


Ignition

by Flyorine



Series: Elements [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/F, I'm Bad At Summaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-01-05 09:43:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18363491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flyorine/pseuds/Flyorine
Summary: Earth, 24th century. That time Team TARDIS got trapped in the middle of a sci-fi movie, after (another) crash landing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I would be back so soon, but here we are. This work is part of a series. I wouldn't say you have to read the first story to understand this one, but it would definitely help since I make a lot of references to what previously happened to the characters. Story is 90% completed, and you can expect weekly (ish) updates! I hope everyone likes it :-).

The TARDIS' library is the largest room on the ship, to Yaz's knowledge. Bookshelves are lined up against the wall, organized in weird, concentric circles that lead to the center of the room, where a fireplace and big comfy chairs take up most of the space. (She isn't quite sure how a fireplace can work on a spaceship, but she has stopped questioning that kind of odd occurrences by now). Ryan and Graham are sitting opposite each other, fidgeting in shared impatience. Yaz takes the chair between them and she soon finds herself facing two pairs of questioning eyes.

"I was at the pool. Did you know we have a pool?" She offers, deliberately avoiding the source of their agitation.

Both men shrug in indifference before Graham speaks. 

"Where's the Doctor?" 

"We've been waiting for ages." Ryan adds.

"Alright, I'm here. Patience doesn't run in your family, does it?" The Timelord enters the room and completes the circle they're sitting in, grinning at Yaz's chuckle.

"You're thirty minutes late!" 

"Am I? Sorry, got distracted by the kettle. Needed an upgrade." Nobody dares question how the perfectly functional kettle has been upgraded while her eyes travel from one human to the other. "Are you ready?" 

"I've been ready since last week." Ryan's excitement is just as obvious as it had been the week before, when Yaz shared her side of the events that happened on Gnov IV over breakfast. The tale resulted in a very confused Graham trying to wrap his head around the concept of telepathy, while Ryan eagerly waited for the Doctor's late arrival into the kitchen. He practically begged the woman to show them how telepathy worked (His arguments ranging from "Why would you be the only one who gets to read people's mind?" to "You never teach us anything fun", all earning him glares from different members of the group.). After a few days of constant pestering from the younger man, the Timelord caved, under the condition that she would only teach them how to defend their mind from telepathic attacks - what she called "Mental Venutian Aikido" - bringing team TARDIS to this moment of silent waiting, huddled together in the ship's library. 

The Doctor ignores Ryan's grumpy comment, lost in her thoughts. Her previous companions had all associated telepathy with mind control, and did their best to stay away from it. A downside of travelling with humans, or so she thought. Yaz, Ryan and Graham are so different from the people she has traveled with in the past, she should have expected their questions about telepathy. Finding answers that satisfied their curiosity is proving to be harder than she expected. The skill is taught at a very young age on Gallifrey and by the time she entered the academy, it was as natural as breathing. The human brain isn't built to for telepathy and she isn't sure how to break down the very intuitive process into words. Glancing around the room, she finds three pairs of eyes staring expectantly at her... Yes. That would do. 

"Close your eyes."

"Why?" Ryan frowns.

“I don’t know, it’s something humans do when telepathy happens. Might help you focus.” The Doctor shrugs away the question, waiting for the three humans' compliance which turns out to be short lived.

"Your eyes are not closed." Ryan can't help but peek after a few seconds of silence.

Yaz lets out an exasperated sigh and Graham protests. 

“Maybe that’s why she 'never teaches you anything fun'.”

The younger man holds up his hands in surrender, but the Doctor indulges him with a smile. How he constantly challenges her is one of her favorite thing about Ryan. She loves a challenge. 

“There, Ryan.” The Timelord's voice turns serious with the next instructions. "Now, I want you to imagine that you're looking at yourself from inside your mind."

The moment of quietness is interrupted by Ryan again, with genuine confusion this time. 

"How am I supposed to do that?" 

"Well..." The Doctor is about to launch into a detailed explanation of how human psyche works, before Graham interrupts again. 

"It's not that hard. Just imagine you're looking at a photo of yourself." 

The other occupants of the room turn and stare at him with the same vaguely shocked, widened eyes. Graham is always the last one to wrap his head around alien concepts, and his casual advice makes everyone freeze. The man himself doesn't react, eyes closed and brows slightly furrowed in quiet concentration. It's the Doctor who snaps out of the moment first.

"Exactly! 10 points for Graham." She glances at both Yaz and Ryan. "You heard him. Close your eyes and imagine you're looking at a photo of yourself." 

They follow the new directive and the Doctor lets them focus for a moment, before sharing her reasoning. "Good.That's what you need to do if you feel like someone is getting into your head, without your permission. You need to project all your thoughts, all your memories and feelings into this representation of yourself. The more information you can fit into the picture, the clearer it will become."

As the Doctor explains, the humans can see the effect of her words materialize into their brain. Details are progressively added to their self image... A tear in the sleeve of her leather jacket appears, when Yaz focuses on the memory of a rough fall from a tree that broke her arm. Dirt becomes visible under Graham's fingernails as he thinks of his passion for gardening. Ryan's hair changes, once he remembers how his nan was always trying to style it when he was a teenager. 

"Now what?" Graham breaks the silence, once his mental picture stabilizes. 

“Now, you defend it.” The Doctor smiles as she answers. The hardest part of her lesson is done, and her body sinks into the armchair as she relaxes. The next bit is a popular children's game on Gallifrey. It's her first time playing with humans though, and she can't deny her excitement at the prospect. 

"Defend it how?”

“Good question, Ryan.” She grins. “Not telling you.”

“Defend it from what?” 

“Another good question. Still not answering it, but it’s a good one“. She frowns and opens her eyes to stare at the youngest man. “No guns, Ryan.”

“I know! I didn't forget what happened on Desolation." He pauses. "Even if I did, you're always going on about it.” 

“Told you I would." The Doctor shrugs, ignoring his disgruntled tone. "Do you want to go first then?”

“Finally!” Ryan has no idea what he's volunteering for, but his excitement sparks back to life. 

“Just lean forward.” 

***************

He does and the Doctor’s hands find his temples. He does his best to stay still, focused on the picture he created into his own mind. His double is now wearing a medieval style armour, complete with a shield and a metallic helmet. He isn't sure what he's going to defend himself against, but he's ready. 

"Interesting. You have a good brain, Ryan Sinclair." He startles at the words and only now notices the Doctor who's standing next to him. "Armour is a classic. I like the color though." The shiny metal has a purple tinged to it, looking sturdy under the dim light around them. 

“Now what? Am I protected enough?” He points at the shield in his left hand. 

The Timelord smirks, flicking her fingers behind her back. 

“I don’t know. Are you?” 

An orange fog suddenly materializes around them, slipping slowly into the cracks of Ryan’s armor. Before he can react, the space left open near his articulations and the gaps of his helmet are filled with the foggy substance, and he has to take off the head protection. 

“What is that?”

The Doctor doesn't answer, returning to the library to slip her fingers off Ryan's head. She waits until he realizes that she's left her brain. A second later, he blinks his eyes opened. "That's what I would do, if I was trying to hurt you. But it's an excellent first try, well done."

"It was proper awesome, even if you cheated." He pauses, a little miffed at his quick loss, before nodding in Graham and Yaz's direction. "Are you going to test them too?"

“I don’t know. Graham? What do you think?”

The older man nods and leans forward when she taps his knee. 

***************

The Doctor touches his head and she's transported into the middle of a street she doesn't know. She looks around and vaguely recognizes what seems to be Sheffield, shocked by the entire environment Graham's mind conceived around himself. In all of her telepathic contacts with the human brain, it's the first time she sees one that can create that sort of intricate surroundings without external help. Her eyes keep scanning the place until her gaze falls onto the older man, standing on the opposite side of the street. He's hidden behind a flow of speeding buses spinning around him at lightning speed, too fast for her to just walk up to him. 

“What do you think, Doc?”

“I like it! Very creative, Graham.” She walks until she faces the man, stopping when she catches a glimpse of him between two moving vehicles. "But what happens if I do this?" After another snap of her fingers, stop signs appears at every corner. Traffic freezes in response and Graham sighs as she crosses the street to reach the disappointed man. "Open your eyes."

Graham does and moves back into his chair, clearly amused by the whole interaction. 

"Ryan's right. That's cheating, Doc." 

"Was it? Losing is how you improve, Graham. Maybe next time you'll imagine yourself onto one of those buses. Maybe Ryan is wearing an armour without any cracks. I can't wait to see what else you can both come up with. Always surprising, humans."

The older man shakes his head and offers an indulging smile. The whole experience still feels very odd to him, but the Doctor is very obviously enjoying every second of it, despite her initial reluctance. He's forced to admit that telepathy is not as scary as he imagined and he can already feel his mind working on a better defense strategy, before Ryan interrupts his thoughts.

"What about Yaz?" 

The Doctor tilts her head in the younger woman's direction, and her attitude softens in the usual way it does around Yaz. The human's first contact with telepathy had been violent, and while she wants nothing more than for Yaz to learn how to protect herself better, she's not going to pressure her into an experience she's not ready for... At least not yet. 

"Do you want to try? You don't have to." 

The human smiles, touched by the concern reflected in gentle hazel eyes facing her. The Doctor has been keeping a closer eye on Yaz since she got kidnapped, always teaming up with the younger woman whenever their group has to be split. The extra attention is generally heart warming, if completely unnecessary. Yaz isn't going to pass on learning telepathic self-defense though, and she silently leans forwards. 

***************

The Doctor nods, pleasantly surprised by Yaz's quick consent, before moving her hands to the younger woman's temples. She appears in the middle of blurry darkness, similar to what happened in Ryan's head. 

After a moment spent getting her bearings - entering three different minds in such a short amount of time would unsettle anyone, even a Timelord - her eyes fall on a familiar blue box, and she grins. 

She walks closer and presses a hand to the wooden surface of the door. Her fingers trail across the help sign, tracing letters that she recognizes by touch. There’s something humbling and meaningful about Yaz’s choice. The Doctor does her best to protect the humans she travels with, but there’s an inherent level of risk involved in all of their trips. Knowing that Yaz still feels safe when they explore the universe together, safe enough to seek refuge into the ship when being told to protect herself, shakes the Timelord’s carefree attitude. It’s not a casual game anymore, it’s a statement. One that speeds up the Doctor’s hearts in a way she hasn't felt in many, many centuries. 

As the weight of the realization slowly sinks in, the Doctor deliberately ignores the answering burst of fear in her head and shifts her focus to the reason for her presence in the human’s brain. How is she going to get into the TARDIS? She considers the idea before placing her hands more firmly against the door. While Yaz chose her as a protector, the ship is the one constant in the two thousand years of her own life. She’s her best friend. 

"Hello you." It's the same loving whisper she’d breathed out on Desolation, and the sound of her voice is enough to make the door click opened, allowing her entrance.

She spots Yaz leaning back against the central console and approaches the younger woman. 

"Clever, Yasmin Khan." The Doctor offers another of her contagious smile and the human can only grin back in answer. "The real TARDIS would never keep me out, but we're in your head. You're in control here. You can just lock the door next ti..."

"I knew the TARDIS wouldn't keep you out. You said we had to defend ourselves. You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Yaz's grin turns into a gentle smile, as she interrupts the Timelord’s suggestion.

"Course not." The words fly out of the Doctor's mouth before Yaz even finishes asking.

"And nothing else can get in. Don't think I forgot that story about Genghis Khan." 

The Doctor chuckles in reply, slowly making her way up the metallic stairs. 

"You wouldn't." She hesitates before weakly protesting Yaz's first claim. "You need to learn how to protect yourself. I don't want you to get hurt again." 

"The TARDIS protecting me from anything that's not you is enough for me." She pauses and raises her hand to take the Doctor's. 

Before she can make contact, Yaz find herself back in the library, her friend's hands fleeing from her head in a blurry motion. The change of scenery is brutal and it leaves the young woman staring blindly in front of her, trying to catch her breath. 

***************

"I'm sorry, you just..." The Doctor pauses, aware of the tremor in her hands as she wrings them together. Severing a mental connection so quickly always leaves both parties shaken. She’s struggling with the adjustment and she’s an experienced telepath. Yaz is human and the Doctor knows the younger woman must be in worse shape than she is. With a quick intake of breath, she wills her hands still, steeling herself. The tension in her shoulders loosens in answer, and she leans forward to grip Yaz's wrist. 

Brown eyes find hers when her fingers touch warm skin. 

"I'm sorry. You can't touch me while I'm your head, I should have warned you. Are you okay?" 

Yaz blinks quickly in answer, struggling to keep her eyes focused on the Doctor's while ignoring Graham and Ryan’s curious looks. Before anyone can question what just happened, the entire floor seems to tilt in a violent motion that sends the occupants of the room flying out of their chairs. Yaz lands on her hands and knees, a few meters away from the Doctor who's laying on her back.

The Timelord quickly finds her footing. "We've landed. Why have we landed?" 

Ryan doesn't move for a few more seconds. He's grown more familiar with the TARDIS' bumpy flights, and swerving is really an odd occurrence. The Doctor seems to be right this time, and after another moment of stable ground under his back, he makes his way upwards. "Where are we?" 

"Or when are we? Is it safe to get up?" Graham asks, from the floor where he keeps a dead grip on his armchair's wooden foot. 

Ryan rolls his eyes at the second question but the Doctor answers before he can tease his granddad. 

"Been a while since I've been through an emergency landing, but she usually stops moving when we've reached the ground, Graham. Should be fine."

Yaz observes the action from the floor, still shaken by the abrupt end to their little session of telepathy. She feels slightly better when she makes eye contact with the Doctor, the woman looks unsettled by more than just the brutal landing. 

Once everybody is standing upright, the Doctor leads the group out of the library, towards the control room. The woman stops them before they can get to the entrance. "Quick warning. Emergency landing usually means that something is threatening to destroy the universe. Or a galaxy." She frowns, considering her own words. "Or a planet, at the very least. Better not wander off before I figure out what's going on." Another pause, shorter this time. "There'll probably be a lot of running involved. But it's fine, we'll be fine." She slips into her coat, left hanging near the doorway. "Probably."

***************

The sight that greets them when they step out of the TARDIS is familiar to all three humans, after seeing it so many times in movies. They've landed in the middle of Time Square, New York. The sun is just starting to set behind the tall buildings surrounding them and the Doctor frowns as they examine the scenery. There's something wrong with the place, but she can't quite put her finger on it. Well known screens are flashing with images of various commercials, street lights are slowly coming alive and the air has that same familiar Earth smell. 

"Doc?" The Timelord is snapped out of her thoughts by Graham's hesitant voice. 

"Yes?" 

"Why is New York empty?" She gasps and looks around the streets. _That's_ what's wrong, they've landed in the middle of Times Square in the busiest time of the day, and there's not one person in sight. The city looks deserted, and the only sound echoing around is the noise of their cautious steps hitting the pavement. 

"Let me just figure out which year..." She whips out the Sonic screwdriver from her pocket, scanning the buildings around them before taking a quick look at the display. "Ooh, not a good time period to be in. Especially not at this time of the day." She doesn't clarify her thoughts before she takes off, running in what's apparently a random direction. Her companions barely hesitate before rushing after the Timelord. 

"Where are we going?" Ryan is trailing right behind the Doctor as they take a sharp turn into a new street. 

"We need to find a place to spend the night." The answer is tossed over her shoulder, the Doctor not slowing her reckless run. They soon find themselves in the middle of an intersection, where they come to a stop. They're surrounded by more tall buildings on the right, and identical penthouses are lined up as far as they can see on their left.

"Maybe one of those folks would take us in." Graham motions to the residential side of the street with his head. 

"We can't. No houses, no public places and no TARDIS." 

"Why not?" Ryan questions, as the other two humans scan their surroundings. 

"Later, Ryan. Any ideas?" 

"You left us with very limited options, Doc." Graham shouts, from a couple of steps away. 

The alien scrunches up her face and reluctantly agrees. "Right." She sighs and paces in the middle of the intersection. Time is running against them, and going back to the TARDIS is quickly becoming their only option. She doesn't want to attract unnecessary attention to her ship, not in this time period and not with what she knows will be patrolling the streets in a few minutes. Ryan speaks up before she can usher her companions back to where they landed. 

"Doctor? What's that?" The man spots a small building, almost hidden between the penthouses surrounding it.

The Doctor turns and smiles when she sees it. 

"Well done, Ryan. That will do." 

Yaz and Graham turn in the same direction and the older man frowns. The building is in a sad state, with most of its windows shattered and the battered down door barely holding on its hinges. The structure still appears sturdy though, and the dark bricks seem to have hold up against time.

"Come on. Stop looking at it and run." The words snap the group of their thoughts and they hurry after the Timelord who's already pointing her sonic at what remains of the door. She sighs and pockets the screwdriver before grasping the wood between her fingers and pulling. Yaz reaches her first and she adds her weight to the effort, forcing the door to yield with a loud squeak. 

The Doctor steps through the doorway first, peering into the dusty space. Frowning at the darkness, she whips out the sonic again and points it towards a small lamp placed on a table near the entrance. Yaz passes her and grabs the object, using it as a makeshift torch as she makes her way further inside. The Doctor and Graham falls into step with her, as Ryan tries to clumsily close the wooden panels behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of exposition here, so I tried to break it down with a flashback (that picks up right where my first story left off. You might have to read the last chapter to understand the context). Next week will be more action and less talking, thanks for being patient! I didn't have much time to proof read, so if something is horribly wrong just leave a comment and I'll change it.
> 
> Also, I keep 95% of my writer's freak outs to myself, but I had to get some thoughts out. The ending note is basically me ranting about characterization, feel free to skip it :-P. Thanks again to those leaving kudos/comments!

"It's a library." states Yaz, making her way further into the dusty room.

"Or it was a library." the Doctor replies as she examines the rows of empty shelves. 

Most of the books are spilled on the floor. Broken tables and chairs are scattered around, and the place looks like it has been sacked a long time ago. The dimming light filtering through the glass remains of windows creates moving shadows around them, and Yaz's grip on the table lamp tightens. The soggy carpet muffles the sound of their footsteps, adding to the eeriness of the atmosphere. 

"Is it safe?" Graham speaks up, wording the humans' shared uneasy feeling.

The Doctor is already scanning the room and she hums in answer. 

"Nobody has been here in a very long time. We're fine."

Ryan joins the group a moment later, pointing towards a mostly cleared space, at the back of the large room. "There." 

Making their way towards the corner he spotted, they arrange themselves in narrow couches lined up against the wall. Graham lets himself fall into the first one, with Ryan sitting next to him. 

"Alright, Doc. What's going on? It's the middle of the day, and New York looks like a ghost town."

"Yeah, it's like a zombie apocalypse out there." Ryan agrees. 

"I thought it was the city that never sleeps." Yaz adds, taking a seat on the couch facing Ryan. The Doctor opts to sit on the floor, leaning back against that same couch. 

"Earth, 24th century. Best guess is late 2550s, somewhere in October. People are not allowed to be outside their flats after sundown." She's interrupted by what sounds like a church bell, tolling three times in a deep and ominous sound that echoes around the room. "A few decades ago, humanity started its biggest experiment with artificial intelligence, and your scientists went too far. Again. You never learn." The last words are grumbled quietly, drawing an exasperated eye-roll from Ryan 

"What do you mean by too far?" Yaz questions, ignoring the now familiar dig towards humanity. 

"You lot decided to cram every single bit of human knowledge into a mostly sentient computer. Called it the Artificial Intelligence. All of the world's history, technological advancements, philosophical theories, even your most important works of art. Everything." 

Ryan frowns as he considers the new information. Part of him is trying to understand the ramifications of that kind of experiment, while the other is just amazed at the perspective of walking into a sci-fi movie's plot. 

"What do you mean by 'mostly sentient'?"

"I'd need to scan it, to answer that question. But the AI assimilated every piece of knowledge humans gave it and used the information to advance its own agenda." 

"So, it evolved, right? It learnt from the information it gathered and changed its programming. " 

Graham and Yaz stay silent, content to watch the discussion unfold. Ryan has the most background knowledge in mechanics and technology, and watching him challenge the Doctor is always fun, even if the other two humans can't always grasp the concepts they're discussing. 

"Yes. It drew connections to every other form of technology. Computers, phones, televisions, every screen in the world connected into the biggest network in human history, ran by an independent computer. And nobody noticed." The Doctor pauses, waiting for Ryan's next question. He's staring at her, eyes blinking quickly as he tries to wrap his mind around the sheer amount of information that would travel through that kind of network. He lets out a breathy chuckle, and the Doctor grins after seeing the flash of understanding pass through his eyes. "Exactly, Ryan."

"Would one of you mind explaining what's going on to the technologically illiterate people in the room?" Graham speaks up. He's fine with being a bystander for theoretical debates, but he still wants to understand what's happening in this odd time period they've been thrown into. 

"Think about it, Graham. You're from the twenty first century, and most people are already letting their phone manage their whole lives. You put your schedule, your credit cards numbers, your work meetings in it, even information about your health. It knows your friends, your family, the next thing you're planning to buy or the next place you're going to visit. It knows everything about you." The Doctor sighs. "Now fast forward through three centuries of technological advancement. Computers run the world. They drive cars, they allow access to every public places. They even manage people's houses, how much water or electricity they're allowed to use. Nobody can get into a store or an office without their identities being controlled online." She pauses. "And I'm telling you that a sentient computer managed to connect all those pieces of technology together, before anybody could stop it."

Yaz can't help the shiver that runs down her back and Ryan audibly gulps. Being projected into a sci-fi movie doesn't seem fun anymore. Graham frowns, still struggling to understand how much control a machine can actually have on people, even one with free will. "Why is that bad? Maybe it just wanted to help people run things quicker?" 

Ryan snickers, but the Doctor only leans forward patiently. She makes eye contact with the older man, before deciding to share more historical details than she originally planned. "The Artificial Intelligence came up with a bracelet, sort of a clever watch." She pauses when Graham frowns. 

"A what?"

"A smartwatch. Sonja has one." Yaz interrupts, rolling her eyes at the memory of her sister gloating about the graduation gift. "It's like a phone but you wear it on your wrist." 

"A smartwatch. Thanks, Yaz." The Doctor reaches and distractedly taps her fingers against Yaz's ankle, leaving her hand to rest on the human's boot as she tries to pick up her explanations. She misses the smirk Ryan throws in Yaz's direction. The younger woman refuses to meet his eyes, choosing to focus her attention back on the Timelord. 

"Using the same piece of technology for everything makes sense, it's how the AI convinced people to buy that watch. A quick scan and people can access their flats, their workplace or any store. They use it to get water, turn on lights or watch television." 

"Nobody saw a problem with that?" Ryan interrupts.

"Because there wasn't one, until the artificial intelligence took control of it. Humans are creatures of habits, when enough people were used to having their entire life revolve around a watch, the AI made its move." 

"How?" Graham asks, the reality of the information slowly sinking in. 

"They just stopped responding to humans' commands. Those bracelets wake people at sunrise and turn off every lights, every screens at sundown. If you're not home by then, you get locked into whichever place you're in and you have to spend the night there."

"That's why you said we couldn't spend the night in a public place, or at someone's house... Couldn't we just stay inside the TARDIS though?" Graham questioned, not keen on spending the night in the middle of an abandoned library. 

"I don't want to draw attention to it. Nobody can get into the TARDIS, but it can be moved around." 

"What if you're outside after sundown?" asks Ryan. 

The Doctor shrugs. "You get arrested... If you get caught."

The three humans are sitting on the edge of their respective couches, elbows on their knees as they process what they learn about the time period they landed in. "What does it want though?" Yaz asks, and the Doctor cranes her neck to look at her. "It's a computer. I don't think it took control of humanity for fun." 

"He's going to kill everyone and replace us by robots!" Ryan suggests. 

"Why are humans obsessed with killing?" The Doctor ticks. "It's a computer. He views the entire planet as a program that needs to be optimized. Every person wearing a watch is an available asset, and every detail about their life is registered into a file. If someone is dragging down the rest of humankind, the amount of resources they have access to is restricted. People who prove their usefulness get more."

"What do you mean?" The quiet words sound loud into the silent library, and Graham isn't sure he wants to know the answer to his own question. 

"People who work more hours, reach production targets or have children are granted more food and water, or bigger houses. Those who skip work or break the curfew law might not be allowed to eat for a day."

***************

Silence falls. The amount of new information being dumped on the three humans is unsettling the group, and the Doctor decides to leave them time to gather their thoughts. She takes the Sonic out of her pocket and twists it between her fingers. 

"It's horrible." Graham whispers, in the heavy atmosphere. "All those people are living in a planet sized prison." His eyes drift to the floor, before an idea hit him. "Can't we stop it? Go back in time to stop those scientists from experimenting with sentient computers."

"I can't always save humanity from themselves, Graham. Some mistakes you just have to make and learn from. Even if I wanted to, the Artificial Intelligence is a fixed point in time." The Doctor sighs.

"A what?" Yaz latches onto the unfamiliar term, eager to move the conversation away from the chaotic period the Earth is thrown into. 

"A turning point in the history of the universe. We can't change anything without risking it crumbling on itself." 

"The whole universe?" Ryan asks, eyes wide. 

"Yes. Changing a fixed point tears the very fabric of time. It creates paradoxes everywhere. And you don't want to know what happens when there are paradoxes, trust me."

"How do you know what's fixed in time though?" The younger man says, curiously. They were already aware that messing with their own time line could erase their existence, but he never thought similar restrictions would apply to the entire universe.

The Doctor lets out a long breath, sensing where that conversation would lead. She kept her time sense away from most of her recent travelling companions. Donna Noble is the last person she had an open discussion with, and the woman started quizzing the Timelord every time they would make new friends. She wanted to know what was going to happen after they left them behind. It was exhausting, and a little tedious to analyze so many people's life events. It didn't last long though, before they caught up with Rose and... Bigger concerns took Donna's mind away from the Doctor's ability to see through time. 

But she can feel the earnest look Ryan is throwing her way, and it softens her resolve.

"I can see it." 

"See... What?" Graham interjects after a brief silence.

"Events that have already happened, what's possibly going to happen, what can or cannot be changed. I can _see_ time lines." Her only answer is a stunned silence, Ryan and Graham's eyes wide as they process the information. That look of amazement is the only part she enjoys when opening up about what Timelords can see. She briefly wonders if Yaz is impressed too, before internally rolling her eyes at her own reaction. Impressing Yaz had nothing do to with her choice to answer Ryan's question... Did it? She frowns, considering her own motivation, before Ryan snaps her out of her thoughts. 

He breathes out a quiet "Amazing", before pressing for details. "Can you see my time line?"

She could. Looking at her companions' future never serves her well though, and she quickly learnt to ignore the possible events flooding her vision around her friends. 

"Not really. Time is not linear, Ryan. I see events that might or might not happen flowing around you." 

"And do you see it changing? What if I do something completely unexpected? I could just walk out the door..." The younger man stands up, evading Graham's hand reaching for him, and takes a couple of steps towards the entrance. "What would happen then?" 

"You'd be arrested by the night patrol. Were you not paying attention earlier?" The Doctor stares at him, unimpressed.

He rolls his eyes. "What if I just stand in the doorway then? Do you see my future changing?" Ryan asks, peering at the empty street through the cracks of the wooden door.

"Get away from that door and I'll answer you." Her voice is even, but there's an unusual edge to it that compels Ryan to listen. She waits until he's near the couch to finish her thought. "I don't see the future, I see possibilities. Your time line is constantly changing with every decision you make. It's sort of..." She trails off and frowns. "Always floating around." 

It's not an accurate way to describe it, the golden strands of time are ingrained in her vision, and nothing is _floating_ around people. That would be too distracting, even for Timelords. It's the easiest way to explain the concept to humans though, and Ryan seems satisfied with the answer.

Yaz's attention slides away from the younger man's antics, as she examines Graham. He's throwing an unhappy look at his grandson, but he hasn't said anything since the Doctor started talking about time lines. The older man's gaze is glued to the floor, and something somber glazes over his eyes. Yaz frowns in reaction. She can sense a new coldness around him, almost as if his worries are permeating the atmosphere. She gently nudges his foot with her boot, dislodging the Doctor's loose grip on her ankle. 

"Graham?" 

"What about..." He interrupts himself, and clears his throat before leveling his gaze on the Doctor. "What about Grace? Was there a time line where she lives?" 

It snaps the woman out of the annoyed glare she's throwing in Ryan's direction, and her attitude softens.

"Of course. I would never have taken you with me, if I knew she was going to get killed, Graham." 

The words make him flinch, people referring to his wife as dead is always a bit of a shock, but he doesn't say anything. Ryan falls back into the couch next to him and awkwardly reaches to bump his granddad's shoulders. His throat tightens anytime he thinks of his nan, and he decides to lighten the conversation, turning back to the Doctor. "Can you see everybody's time lines though? Like, when you walk down the street?"

"Yes." The Doctor's answer is sharp. She's struggling to keep the restlessness out of her voice. Discussing her knowledge of time only serves as a reminder of the limited amount she gets to spends with her companions. Their lives are so much shorter than hers. It's not a thought she likes to dwell on, it only shakes up an irrational urge to run - to leave her friends behind before they can leave her - and she forces herself to take a deep, calming breath. 

The unfamiliar edge to the Doctor's voice catches Yaz's attention, while Ryan asks another question. "And can you turn it off, or is..."

"Shut up." It's Yaz who cut off his questions and the younger man raises a confused eyebrow in her direction. "Stop interrogating her, Ryan. Can you imagine how tiring it must be, to see all that history when you look at strangers? Stuff that might never even happen."

Ryan looks off in the distance, considering his friend's words.

"Sorry, I didn't think..." He stops with a frown, not sure what exactly he should be apologizing for. 

"It's alright, I'm used to the questions. Curse of the Timelords and all that." 

The objection isn't convincing anyone, and Yaz moves a hand forwards to offer what she hopes is a comforting rub on her friend's closest shoulder. The blond woman leans into the warm touch, and Yaz lets her fingers rest where the Doctor's neck meets her shoulders. Physical contact is a relatively new part of their relationship, and the human is still getting used to it. It goes back to the morning she woke up with her head practically resting on the Timelord's lap, the day after she was kidnapped on Gnov IV.

***************

_Yaz wakes up in the middle of a vivid dream about the night they spent in Alabama. That particular trip left a mark on her and she often dreams about their meeting with Rosa Parks. The young woman doesn't open her eyes, enjoying the last seconds of warm drowsiness before what she knows will be a busy day. Every day is a busy day on the TARDIS, which is part of why she enjoys traveling through space and time so much._

 _Yaz is snapped out of her thoughts by rough material brushing against the tip of her nose and she freezes. She takes inventory of the rest of her body and quickly realizes that she's sleeping on her side, facing another person occupying the bed. She's not awake enough to gather her thoughts, only noticing that her curled up knees are pressed against their legs. It's the hand holding hers that kick starts her memory. The skin is warm and the loose grip is vaguely familiar, enough to remember falling asleep next to the Doctor. She's not sure when she moved from her side of the bed, but they're close enough for her eyelashes to brush against the Timelord's trousers as she blinks slowly._

_Finding the Doctor at her side is somewhat of a surprise and she smiles as the thought sinks in. Lowly human 1, Superior Timelord who needs no sleep 0. She knew her friend needed to rest, but Yaz never believed she would stay in bed for so long. Her victory is cut short by a clicking sound tugging at the corner of her mind. It's faint and it's coming from inside the room, somewhere over her head. She doesn't remember anything making such a regular ticking noise - almost like a clock - when she fell asleep and she pries one eye opened to locate the source of the clicks. She sighs at the sight that greets her. The Doctor is wide awake, leaning back against the headboard and using her free hand to fidget with something vaguely resembling a Rubik cube. The bright colors hurt her eyes and Yaz blinks away the last traces of sleep fogging her brain. The movement is enough to catch the Doctor's attention._

_"You're awake! I don't think Ryan and Graham are up yet, you didn't sleep for that long."_

_Yaz hums and represses a yawn, as her eyes wander around the rest of the room. The lights are still dimmed, like the TARDIS' version of night, making her realize that she has completely lost track of the passage of time since their landing on Gnov IV. She's usually pretty good with keeping count of the passing hours, using the rhythm set by the TARDIS' lighting to calculate how many days pass on each of their trips. Not that it really matters since they're traveling through time, but she likes knowing how many hours goes by between her visits home. It helps when she finds herself missing her family. Her kidnapping and the heavy sleep she just emerged from were enough to make her lose count of the alternation between nights and days, and she frowns, before glancing at the Doctor._

_"What time is it?" The younger woman asks, shifting to sit up against the headboard to match the Doctor's position. The Timelord doesn't look at her, focused on the puzzle twisted into her fingers._

_"Early? Could be late, I guess. I wouldn't expect the boys to be awake for another hour."_

_Yaz nods silently and shifts her attention to the colorful ticking cube. “Where did you get that?”_

_The blond woman swaps two small round pieces together to create strange wavy lines on one side. “At the marketplace. It's the Sontaran version of your Rubik cube. The colors all fit together to create some sort of message. Probably a declaration of war, knowing them”_

_Yaz frowns, but she decides to let the information go since the Doctor clearly isn't concerned. She watches as the woman clumsily fumble around the puzzle for a few seconds. The Timelord is wearing her usual clothes, only her boots are missing, showing her feet clad in bright yellow socks that clash against the darkened atmosphere. Her fingers are moving slower than usual, and her brows are furrowed in concentration. She looks even more tired than when Yaz fell asleep, and there's a new tension around her that the younger woman can't quite put into words._

_"You didn't sleep, did you?" The question is gentle, accompanied by a friendly bump on her friend's shoulder._

_The Doctor sighs. Her short lived nap was interrupted by an all too familiar nightmare, something dark and confusing, full of Daleks and angel shaped statues. The nightmares are another reason why she hates sleeping. They always catch up with her, in the end. "A little. I'll be fine."_

_“Can I ask you something?”_

_“Always.” The Doctor’s voice is soft, in that special tone that’s reserved only for Yaz, and the younger woman draws courage from it. She bites her lips, carefully weighing her next words._

_“Do you ever stop running around? And I don't mean in the 'I passed out from exhaustion' way.”_

_The Doctor lets out a long breath and Yaz tenses, nervous that she crossed some sort of boundary with her question. She starts to wonder if she'll get an answer at all, as the silence lengthens and her friend stays quiet._

__

__

_“Sometimes.” The Timelord shrugs and returns her attention to the puzzle._

_“How?” Yaz prods. The Doctor doesn't react for the longest time, enough for the human to let the conversation go. The blond is a private person, and no matter how much Yaz's curiosity is nagging at her, the younger woman has learnt quickly that it's better to drop some subjects. The Timelord would either act like the conversation never happened, or she would circle back on the matter whenever she felt ready to discuss it, which could take entire days. She would sometimes blurt out the answer in the middle of completely unrelated moment, making Yaz's head spins as she tries to follow the Doctor's train of thoughts._

_Deciding that she's not going to push for more information - at least not for now - Yaz shuffles near the bedside table, grabs the novel she abandoned the day before and finds her bookmark. She slides a little further down the cover, content to enjoy a peaceful and oddly domestic moment with the Doctor._

_“People.”_

_“What?” Yaz has already gone through a full chapter of her book when the Doctor interrupts the silence._

_"People help, humans especially. They distract me from my thoughts, with their stories and their questions about everything. I'm not very good at being alone. It gets too quiet, so my brain tries to fill up the silence and then I'm thinking too loud." She sighs, throwing a quick glance at Yaz's wide, frozen eyes. "I'm sorry I can't explain it better."_

_Yaz pauses her reading, slowly turning the corner of her page before discarding the book entirely. She's caught off-guard by the brutally honest answer, but she feels a few of her disjointed memories about the Doctor click into the place. It explains why the Timelord is such a good listener, why she only asks to be left alone when she needs to plan a way out of whatever dire situation they're caught into, and why she always looks just a little bit worried whenever she drops them off in Sheffield. An idea is slowly forming in Yaz's mind, something that might help with the sad shadow still flashing through the Doctor's eyes, but she's not sure how to bring it up._

_"What if I told you a story?" The words repeats in her head as she speaks them and Yaz's eyes widen while the Doctor freezes in reaction._

_Guess we're going with the direct way then, thinks the younger woman with an internal wince. The human is not even sure which answer she's hoping for. Rejection would sting, but she doesn't have the slightest idea how to proceed if the Doctor accepts. What kind of story would a centuries old travelling alien want to hear about Yaz's ordinary human life? "If you think it can help." She shrugs, trying to pass the suggestion as a casual idea._

_"About what?"_

_Yaz opens and closes her mouth, desperately searching her memory for something that would hold the other woman's interest. The silence lengthens and she settles on her first ever shift with the Hallamshire police - something funny that involves a lost cat, a lot of rain, and puddles of mud in a school yard - before she allows herself to glance at the Doctor._

_The woman has her hands squeezed around her puzzle in a white knuckled grip, keeping her gaze firmly on the small cube. Her shoulders are raised and her jaw clicks shut as their eyes meet for a second. Yaz can practically feel stress radiating from the Timelord, and she realizes that her story is going to be pointless if she doesn't defuse some of the heavy tension in the room._

_"I was the only Muslim girl at my primary school. We were kids though, and nobody really noticed the color of my skin or my religion, until Izzy Flint was transferred into our class. She started pointing out the differences between us the moment we met. It was all harmless at first, she would just ask a lot of personal questions. Then one day she started calling me names and the other kids thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. It took a month after that before I lost almost all my friends." The memory of a small boy named Harry who had stuck with her - at least until he had switched schools in the middle of the year - brought a smile to her lips. He was her last happy school memory before her life really turned into a nightmare._

_"I'm sorry that happened to you." The Doctor's voice is hesitant, and Yaz turns to watch confusion slowly turns into a sad frown on her friend's face. It makes her chuckle._

_"That's not the story I want to tell you, let me finish." The younger woman glances once more at the Doctor, drawing courage from both her gentle gaze and the memory of how safe she felt just a few hours ago, tucked into the Timelord's side while they were stargazing. "The bullying got pretty bad as we grew up. Nobody could really see me anymore, they just saw the lone Muslim kid in their class. The easy target."_

_Yaz pauses to swallow the anger that's still burning in her stomach every time she recalls that part of her past. It's an odd mix of emotion, anger coupled with a melancholic sadness and just a bit of irrational shame. "They started following me home. I could barely sleep at night, I would just imagine how they would torture me the next day." She chooses to skip through the panic attacks, focusing on why she's sharing her memory with the Doctor in the first place. "My mom noticed and there's something... She had a trick that would always calm me down."_

_"I really liked your mom. Have I told you that? Very smart woman, Najia." Yaz catches the Doctor's approving nod from the corner of her eyes. She waits until the Timelord is done with her tangent about her mother, using the quiet moment to gather her courage. She's about to push the boundaries of their relationship just a little further and she isn't sure how well her offer would be received. With a quick promise to herself that she won't take the Doctor's answer personally, no matter what it is, Yaz speaks again._

_"Do you want me to try?"_

_"Try... What your mom did for you... On me?" The words are slow, as the Doctor tries to clarify the suggestion._

_It's not a rejection, and Yaz feels the opening. She chooses to press, very carefully._

_"You're exhausted. Let me help."_

_The Timelord stares at her friend for a long, quiet moment. Every instinct she has is screaming at her to - gently - turn Yaz down. She's really not that tired, all things considered, and she'd never needed anyone's help to fall asleep. She's managed just fine by herself for the last two thousand years. But there's something so earnest, so soft in the warm brown eyes patiently waiting for her decision. Yaz's kindness is tugging at her hearts, throwing her into a flurry of emotions she hasn't felt in a very, very long time. She remembers the openness in the younger woman's gaze when she allowed the Timelord to take care of her headache barely a few hours ago, and suddenly the answer becomes obvious._

_"I trust you."_

_Yaz's smile is bright in the darkened room, and the Doctor can only grin back. The human moves closer to her friend, allowing plenty of time for her to move away if she changes her mind, but the blond only keeps looking at her, expectantly. Yaz's arm wraps around the Timelord and gently tugs her closer, until the Doctor shuffles and lays her head against her shoulder. The younger woman's other arm reach to the back of her friend's neck, fingers tangling in short blond hair. The Doctor shivers in reaction, feeling the soft touch tracing shapes on her skin and brushing against her scalp._

_Yaz feels her trembling response and she stops moving. "I know you don't like people touching you. Just tell me if it's too much."_

_The Timelord freezes._

_"How..." She pauses and takes a deep breath. "That's not true."_

_"You never touch any of us. The only time I've seen you willingly hug someone was my mom, in the middle of a giant spider invasion. I just assume..." Yaz trails off with what she hopes is a casual shrug._

_The Doctor blows out another long sigh and shifts against her, until her head moves to Yaz's chest, allowing the younger woman better access to her neck and shoulders. Yaz smiles and takes advantage of it, her fingers moving in random patterns._

_"Remember when I mentioned being a white haired Scotsman? He couldn't stand touchy feely stuff. There's still... Traces of him in my head. I was careful because I didn't know how I would react to being touched."_

_"But last night, you..." Yaz interrupts herself, remembering how she woke up wrapped in her friend's arms on the TARDIS' doorstep._

_"Weren't going to just leave you. You passed out." She swallows and considers her next words. "And I did... I liked it. Being close to you." The admission makes her hearts speed up, as the Doctor braces herself for her friend's reply. She's pleasantly surprised by the wordless, happy hum that echoes against her ear. The messy emotions swirling into her brain still feel too raw, too out of control to discuss, and she's glad when Yaz doesn't push the matter further._

_Yaz feels more than she hears the Doctor's relieved sigh and she smiles, continuing her soothing touch against the back of the blond's neck, until the woman interrupts the quiet moment._

_"I was promised a story." The words are slow and just a little slurred, and Yaz chuckles. The difference in the Timelord's speech is barely noticeable, but she's been focused on the Doctor's every movement for a while now._

_"Do you want to know about the first time they let me do a shift alone?"_

_"The first time the Hallamshire Police let PC Khan run wild? Sure."_

_The younger woman gently tugs against the hair sliding between her fingers, deliberately ignoring the answering shiver traveling through the Doctor's back._

_"Be nice, or you'll never know how I rescued Mrs Johnston's cat."_

_"Wouldn't want to miss that..." The Timelord trails off and Yaz begins her story, starting from the moment she realized her usual training officer had stayed home with a virus and that she would be allowed on patrol without supervision. Not even midway through her tale, the blond sinks a little further against the human's side and Yaz glances down to see the Doctor's eyes closed as her breathing slows. The younger woman lets herself relax in return, but she keeps up her soothing touch against her friend's neck._

_The quiet moment is a rare occasion to watch the Doctor at rest, and Yaz allows her eyes to drift on the Timelord's features, taking in the scent of her fruity shampoo and the way her golden ear chain glistens in the room's dimmed light. The touch of warm air against Yaz's collarbone as the Doctor's breathing deepens feels intimate, in a way that would usually scare the human. There's no fear now though, only a wave of fond affection - mixed with a good amount of protectiveness - for the woman sleeping against her. Yaz presses a kiss against the Timelord's soft hair, before freezing._

_Oh, no._

_She has a crush on the Doctor. The realization itself isn't groundbreaking and she's not particularly shocked. The feelings has been building inside of her for a while, shifting every time the connection between them deepens. It feels natural, almost like a relief to admit it to herself. The denial was starting to weigh heavily on her shoulders._

_But it also means Najia was right. She can almost hear the unbearable smugness in the older woman's voice, once they'll be reunited and her suspicions are confirmed. Yaz lets out a long sigh before softly hitting her head against the wall behind her, until the lights around them blink in protest. The human winces and whispers an apology to the ship, keeping her voice low to not disturb the sleeping Timelord in her arms._

***************

Since that morning, they're both quicker to offer physical comfort whenever they're in close proximity. Arms being thrown over shoulders, hugs, even hand holding are all common occurrences, and it only adds to Yaz's confusion about how exactly the Doctor would define their relationship. She's in no rush to discuss the question, content with the grey zone they're standing into. 

It's fear that keeps her from pushing the Doctor to talk about the brewing feelings binding them together. There's a part of her that's terrified of her crush being one sided. It's a small voice that faints a little more every day, between all the quiet moments they share. 

With anyone else, her doubts would be gone by now, except...

Except the Doctor isn't human. Yaz has no idea how Timelords handle relationships, if it's the same as when two people start dating on Earth. She's not sure if she wants to find out. 

And while she would never admit it to anyone, there's a part of her enjoying the slowly deepening connection between them. It's warm and comforting, and exactly the kind of safety she needs when they make their way back to the TARDIS after their most grueling days spent putting their lives at risk to help others. 

Graham snaps Yaz out of her thoughts when he words the question they had all glossed over. "I know we got offtrack, but it doesn't answer the main question." Three pairs of confused eyes turn to him. "Why did we land here?" 

"Great question." The Doctor frowns. "The TARDIS must have sensed something wrong about to happen, she wouldn't stick us in a dangerous spot for no reason. There's a threat somewhere and we need to find it, without being noticed by the Artificial Intelligence. Which is why..." She stands up and brushes off imaginary dust from her trousers. "This is a great spot to start. Nobody will disturb us here, we can research all night."

"Not keen on research. I say me and Yaz can go check the perimeter. See if anything looks out of the ordinary near us." Ryan says. 

"Before or after you get arrested?" Graham asks, ironically. 

"Yaz is in the police though! Maybe she can go and talk to the cops in the night patrol."

The younger woman rolls her eyes, but doesn't say anything. She doesn't mind research, but the kind of legwork Ryan is suggesting is more in her comfort zone. Maybe they could manage to avoid detection. 

The idea doesn't last long and earns Ryan another glare from the Doctor. "Unless you think Yaz can pass as a robot, then no."

The younger man startles and ignores the first part of the sentence. "There are proper robot cops now? This is awesome." 

"Alright, maybe don't get too excited. How would you like being forced to wake up at sunrise every day?" Graham says.

"I could handle it. You're the one who needs two daily naps." Ryan smirks.

"Oi!" 

The rest of Graham's protest is lost to Yaz, who tunes out their usual bickering. "What happened to regular police officers?" 

"Not sure. I just know they've been replaced." The Doctor answers distractedly, her attention bouncing from Graham to Ryan as she follows their argument. "The AI probably figured robots could do the job better than humans. Doesn't seem that hard."

"Not that hard? I spent two years in the academy to learn how to be a police officer. It's not easy" Yaz interjects, with a frown.

"Sorry." The Doctor keeps her voice even, muffling an amused smile against the palm of her hand before turning her back to the younger woman. 

Yaz's frown deepens, and she groans in annoyance after staring at her friend's back for a few seconds. "No, you're not. You think it's funny. How would you feel if some machine could pilot the TARDIS better than you?"

She stands and walks further into the library, taking the lamp left abandoned on the low table with her. Her makeshift torch is enough to follow a line of empty shelves to a pile of scattered papers on the floor and she sits against the wall with a long sigh. She knows her reaction is a little irrational, but the Doctor's amusement is unnerving. The countless days she spent at the academy before being allowed to wear the uniform of the Hallamshire police now seem like a waste of time. Knowing that her and her coworkers would be replaced by mindless androids is frustrating, even if she would never live to see this time period for herself. 

***************

The Doctor scrambles for the sonic screwdriver as the younger woman leaves. She manages to find it before the light from Yaz's lamp has completely vanished and cuts down Ryan and Graham's dual protest by turning on a few more light bulbs. Hands on her hips, she tilts her head and find the corner of the library her friend went to. Her eyes narrow as she recalls the conversation they just had. She's sure her tone was sincere when she offered her apology and she wasn't facing Yaz when the younger woman snapped, so it wasn't her face that betrayed her amusement. 

She wasn't even amused by the human's specific reaction. Of course someone would find more efficient way of doing police work, just like they would eventually learn how to space travel. Humanity's permanent quest to improve their lives is one of her favorite thing about Earth's inhabitants. They're never content with the state of technology, always striving to achieve more... And yet when they face the reality of being replaced themselves, it seems like the end of the world. She never meant to offend Yaz though, since she knows her friend wouldn't be losing her job any time soon

The Doctor steels herself and takes a step forward, intent on explaining her reaction to Yaz, before Graham stops her with a hand on her elbow. "Give her some time to work through her feelings. She'll come back." 

Ryan nods silently from his spot on the couch and the Doctor turns to face them.

"How long am I supposed to wait?" 

The younger man shrugs and Graham only gives her a friendly pat on the arm. 

"Just wait, Doc. What do we do in the meantime?"

It's a little unsettling to not have Yaz nearby while she tries to decide on a course of action, but the Doctor shoves away her initial reaction. When did she become so reliant on the younger woman's opinion? Making plans is what she's always done best, and Yaz didn't even leave the room. She's sitting right there, making her way through old papers while throwing away books that have seen better days. The Doctor tilts her head as she notices what her friend is holding. A pile of yellowed newspaper. 

"Maybe Yaz has the right idea." She glances at Ryan and Graham. "Newspaper could tell us more about recent events". Her face scrunches as she remembers the abandoned state of the building they found refuge in. The news from a decade ago would have limited use, but it's better than being forced into inaction until daytime. 

The two men nod in reply and they separate, wordlessly heading to different sections of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The flashback. THE FLASHBACK. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever written. Each Doctor has such a different way of handling friendships/relationships, and she really didn't get a whole lot of character development in the last season (Don't get me started, I could write an entire book about how they surfed on Jodie Whittaker's brilliant acting and on side plots. Creating awesome side characters is great, but not if you're going to switch them up every episode, AND forget about your hero in the process. And this Doctor is so different from the last versions, come on. Help the fanfic writers out). 
> 
> Anyway, ranting about DW is not the point (though I've been writing about this show for 6 years now, so I have a lot of thoughts :-D). I hope you all still liked the chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3! As I said, more action and less talking. Thanks for leaving kudos :-)

The Doctor is sitting cross legged on the floor, leaning against a wall and going through a book about Ancient Egypt. The colorful images representing different figures from Egyptian mythology caught her attention earlier, after hours of fruitless research in old newspaper. The noise of familiar footsteps snaps her out of her reading, and she resists the urge to raise her head until leather boots enter her field of vision. 

"Hello." She grins, and the corners of Yaz's mouth twitch in reaction. It's always very hard to stay cross with the Doctor, especially when she knows the alien isn't aware of what she did wrong. With a long sigh, she decides to let go of her frustration before joining the Timelord on the floor, glancing sideways with a smile. 

"I found this." She hands an old piece of newspaper to the Doctor. 

The paper is almost crumbling between her fingertips, as the blond woman slowly turns the sheet upside down to read the words. The article is dated, written almost thirty years ago. "Artificial Intelligence: Progress or threat?" The Timelord bites her lower lip, after reading the title out loud. She quickly scans through the text, nothing in particular jumping to her attention. It's a simple assessment of how much control humanity was about to give away to a sentient computer, by providing it with so much data about human history and way of life. The author goes on to briefly hypothesize about potential threats, if the machine ever turns against its creators. 

"Lots of accurate guesses in one page. Would be worth at least fifty points, if I knew who wrote it. How does it help us though?" The Doctor asks. 

"It's all happened right? Every event that this person described turned out to be accurate?" Yaz excitedly reaches for another paper she found earlier. "Because they also wrote this." 

The second sheet is in a less terrible aging state, but the Doctor still handles it carefully. She frowns after glancing at the title. "The Hacker that Could Control the World." She pauses, looking at the words displayed in front of her eyes. "You think someone is going to hack the Artificial Intelligence?" 

"Maybe? The paper says that taking control of the computer could turn the planet into a worldwide dictatorship." quotes Yaz.

"But it's impossible." The Doctor argues, shaking her head. "The AI's location has been deleted from human knowledge, it's even been erased from the Internet. The scientists behind that experiment were executed too, and I guess the building has some sort of security system. Lot of work for a hacker. " 

"How? I thought once an information was online, it was there forever." 

"Not when you control the Internet." The Doctor shrugs. 

The young woman deflates for a few seconds before a new idea hits her. "The TARDIS could find it though, right?" 

"Probably, with enough time and inform..." The Doctor starts, after a moment spent considering the idea.

Yaz interrupts. "What if the hacker is not from Earth either? Maybe the TARDIS brought us here to stop another alien invasion." 

The Doctor's eyes widen. "Now, that's a thought." She trails off and stays silent for a second. "If you're right, we can't afford to wait for daylight. We need to find that building." She twists the second piece of newspaper between her fingers. The more she thinks about the information, the more it feels a little _too_ accurate. Something is wrong. "We need to find whoever wrote this too, quick as we can. Come on." 

The Doctor stands and makes her way to Graham and Ryan who are leaning against each other near the opposite wall, a lamp on either side of them. She quickly shares what Yaz discovered, while the younger woman fidgets next to her. "We need a plan. Any idea?" 

"What, now? We're going out before daytime? What happened to the robot police?" The older man argues, and the Doctor sighs. 

"I know, Graham. If I thought this could wait, we would." 

"So you're sending us on a search for two things we have no idea where to find, while we're not even supposed to be outside. Most of your plans are a little crazy, Doc. But this is just..." He trails off in a wide hand movement, staring at the Doctor. The woman stares back and there's an unusual gravity in her voice when she levels with him. 

"If the TARDIS landed here, it's because there's something seriously wrong that we need to stop. I thought it could wait until morning, but if Yaz is right... Then it can't. Not risking an alien invasion because we might end up in jail, but none of you has to come with me." She makes eye contact with every one of her friends. "You can stay here, wait for daylight and head back to the TARDIS. She might give us clues about where to start searching." 

"No way" Yaz scoffs, and Ryan silently nods next to her. Graham lets out a long breath.

"If we get locked up again, our next trip better be to a quiet place." 

"I'll take you wherever you want to go, Graham." The Doctor turns and fetches the abandoned papers on the ground. "Now, this is from a newspaper called "Hudson University Gazette." 

"It says that the university was founded in 2108." Yaz points out, reading over the Doctor's shoulder. "And there's the address to the author's office, in small prints." 

Ryan crouches to rummage through the pile of paper he was reading earlier. "Wait, I saw a map somewhere. Maybe..." His fingers clinch around a thick folded sheet. "Maybe we can find it." 

Graham leans closer to him, taking the map for himself. "Let the bus driver handle this." It takes a few seconds but he eventually points to a small group of buildings near the TARDIS' landing site. "It's here." 

"Good eye, Graham." The Doctor turns to the two men. "That's where you'll start with Ryan. Find that professor and try to see what he knows about the AI. Maybe he can give us clues about where it's located. Once we find the spot, we can organize our defense. Anything you learn could be useful."

"Wait, we're going to defend the computer?" Ryan says. "Why not destroy it and free everyone?" 

"If there's a chance, maybe we can help. We have to get rid of the threat first though, and protect Earth from it. Big picture, Ryan." The Doctor replies.

Graham stands up and makes his way to the door, gently pushing his grandson in front of him. "Any tips to avoid getting arrested, Doc?" 

"Patrolling robots have motion sensors. Freeze if you see one of them. There shouldn't be too much surveillance, most humans gave up resistance years ago. It's hard to plot against an enemy that can intercept all forms of communication." 

Ryan nods and shoves Graham back towards the door, quietly closing it as they exit the library. 

"What about us?" The question snaps the Doctor out of her thoughts, and she turns to grin at the younger woman. 

"We're going fishing." 

***************

"So, by 'Fishing' you meant 'We're going to wander around downtown New York and scan every single building with the Sonic'? This will take ages." Yaz points out, as she tries to make her way across an empty street. 

Most of the street lamps are turned off, not that it matters when the entire city is deserted. Darkness helps them spot the robots moving around the streets, and they've been able to avoid the patrolling groups so far. They're nothing like Yaz expected. Their height, weight, hair color, even their skin tone vary from one to the other. They could easily be mistaken for regular humans, if not for their empty eyes and the wheels under their feet that allow them to move at an impossible speed. 

The Doctor runs to join the younger woman behind a car. "I know. Sorry, I gave the easy job to the boys. I don't think Graham could have handled looking for a fork in a haystack again."

Yaz needs a minute to catch up with the Doctor's last sentence and snickers once the words click. She glances around the corner of a wall, before turning to the Timelord gesturing her forwards. "It's a needle, Doctor. Looking for a needle in a haystack." 

The other woman moves, and they're both leaning against the same wall when she points the Sonic towards another imposing building that looks vaguely like a theater. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why a needle? What would you need a needle for? And why would it be in a haystack?" 

Yaz chuckles and rests the back of her head against the cold surface behind her, while they wait for the scan to be completed. "I don't know. Haven't you worked out that not every human saying is meant to be taken literally?" 

The Doctor takes a step back with a disappointed sigh after reading the screwdriver's display. "Nothing." She lets her back hit the wall and turns to meet Yaz's eyes. "Of course I have, I'm very clever. But it made you smile." 

The comment startles Yaz and she wills away the answering flutter in her stomach. "Maybe" She's getting better at dealing with her crush on the Doctor since she stopped denying its existence, but she doesn't think she'll ever get used to the woman's casual flirting. 

"You smiled, I saw it. And those eyes are really good, not like that time I had to carry glasses everywhere. They got smashed pretty often." 

The mental picture causes an entirely different kind of flutter in her chest, and Yaz has to shove away her brain's depiction of the Doctor wearing glasses to focus on their conversation. "When was that?" 

The Timelord slides the Sonic back into her coat's pocket before stepping away from the wall. "Well, last time was Bow Ties but I've worn glasses a lot. Made me look clever. Anyway, we should keep mov..." 

She turns the corner of the street and the words die in her throat as she comes face to face with a robot pointing a flashlight into her eyes. 

Yaz spots the police car too late and she stumbles on the pavement in a clumsy fall, only kept upright by the grip the Doctor manages to get around her waist. They freeze and wait in heavy silence.

"Human presence detected. Identify." The voice is metallic and matches what Yaz would expect from an android. The man is tall, a few inches taller than the Doctor, and his skin is pale. He has long dark hair tucked into a black cap, but that's the only facial feature Yaz can see. The light shining into her eyes is blinding, and she blinks quickly in reaction. 

"I'm the Doctor and this is Yaz." The Timelord moves slowly, slipping a hand into her right coat's pocket. The robot doesn't react, at least not strongly enough for Yaz to notice. 

"Identify." 

The blond woman takes the psychic papers out and raises the wallet under the light, near where the man's face should be. Yaz holds her breath, doubting the trick will work on a machine as they wait in silence.

"Identify" The robot repeats for a third time. 

"Of course we had to fall on a stupid robot." The Doctor mumbles and receives a sharp elbow to her ribs in answer. She glances at Yaz who's frowning back, but still shuffles closer to the other woman's ear. 

"Do you have a plan that doesn't include provoking the armed robot about to arrest us?" It's a whisper, since she's not sure how much the android can understand. 

"Failure to identify. Unknown humans charged with breaking the Curfew Law. Do you confess?" Yaz feels the grip of the arm wrapped around her tightens in reaction. She can see the Doctor's eyes scanning their surrounding, searching for a way out of their predicament. She decides to do the same, but quickly realizes the search is pointless. There's no sign of life around, at least not as far as she can see in the empty streets. Short of running away from the large man standing in front of them - which is doomed to fail after seeing how fast the androids can run - there's nothing they can do, except comply. 

Yaz glances in the Doctor's direction, watching as the woman comes to the same realization before letting out a long sigh. "Got a plan."

Her arm moves from Yaz's waist to the younger woman's shoulders, until the Doctor's hand grips her jacket and tugs back. With a frown, Yaz follows the wordless indication and takes the smallest step towards the wall behind them. It's enough for the Timelord to slip in front of her friend, and she jumps in the robot's direction, whipping out the Sonic right before the collision. The screwdriver makes contact with the android's head and he drops to the ground, motionless. 

Yaz stares at the scene with wide eyes, trying to wrap her mind around the sudden turn of events. The Doctor stares at the fallen officer, hands on her hips, wearing a smile that's entirely too smug for how close they came to being arrested. She turns and reaches towards Yaz. The human takes the offered hand and tangles their fingers. "How did you know that would work?" 

The Doctor's smirks turns sheepish. "I didn't. He's probably rebooting already, let's not stay here." The Timelord tugs on Yaz's hand but the other woman stands firm. 

"Wait. The Artificial Intelligence is controlling the robots. You said it connected all forms of technology into one super network."

The blond frowns, trying to follow her companion's train of thoughts. "Yes?"

"Well if it's getting commands from the AI, it must be sending information back. Right?" Yaz hesitates, not completely sure where her reasoning is going. Before she can gather her thoughts, the Doctor is excitedly rushing towards the crumbled android. 

"I can track it. I can track the information going back." She grins at Yaz from the ground as the Sonic whirs around the robot's head. "I love when you speak my language." 

"Yeah?" Yaz bites her lips, her heart thumping in reaction to the delighted sparkle shining in her friend's eyes. 

"Yes." Her toothy grin slowly changes into a more quiet, gentle expression, and the human takes a step closer in answer. The moment is cut short by a beep of the Sonic and the Doctor shifts her eyes to the screwdriver. "Oh, yes." 

Yaz sighs, letting out a breathless chuckle at her friend's unfazed excitement. "I'm assuming it means we won't have to walk around half of New York to find that building." 

The Timelord stands and pockets the instrument before stepping closer to Yaz. "I know exactly where we're going. And if I'm not mistaken..." She grabs Yaz's hand again, pulling until they're facing the opposite side of the street, where Yaz notices a new light brightening the previously dark space. "It's sunrise. Come on, let's get a shift on." 

***************

An hour goes by before the Doctor and Yaz can reach the tall building indicated by the sonic screwdriver. Sunrise came with a continuous flow of people making their way up and down the streets, slowing down their progression. It's not so different from morning traffic in Sheffield, except that nobody is rushing. People's steps are fast but measured, almost synchronized in an hypnotic movement crowding every alley Yaz and the Doctor wander into.

Yaz took the bus often enough in her school years to recognize the blank stare shared by every human who was ever stuck in a morning commute, but something is just _wrong_ in the eyes of the people moving around them. They're empty. The sight is unsettling, and Yaz finds herself sticking closer to the Doctor's side than she usually does, tightening her grip on the blond woman's hand. 

They eventually leave busy boulevards behind, turning into a quieter street. There's a shift in the atmosphere, as background noises progressively fade away. The crowd is reduced to a thin line of people hurrying towards unknown destination without paying attention to their surroundings. 

Yaz looks around and spots the familiar figures of Graham and Ryan huddled together against a tall building's wall. The two men are engaged in what seems like an intense discussion with a small silhouette that's barely tall enough to reach Ryan's knee. The stranger has their back turned, a thick cloak wrapped around most of their body. The Doctor is rushing to the group before Yaz has a chance to alert her of her findings. 

The human follows at a slower pace, observing the scene that's unfolding in front of her. Graham and the stranger are both pointing to the tallest building in the street, their arms flailing around as they speak. The structure is unremarkable among the dozens of office towers scattered around New York, except for the rusty chains keeping both of the heavy glass doors locked shut. The lights inside are all turned off, and it looks like it hasn't been used in quite some time.

As Yaz watches, Ryan leaves the group and makes his way to the side of that same building. He spots a side entrance and tries the door's handle only to find it locked. He aims an exasperated glare at the sky, before abandoning the door to look around him. He notices Yaz on the opposite side of the street, and he approaches her with a palpable look of relief as he crosses path with the Doctor who's heading in the other direction.

"About time." He says, strolling closer to Yaz. "That man" He points at the stranger facing Graham. "Is Professor Ox. He's the alien who wrote both articles you found in the library. He was in his office when we got to the university and he dragged us here after Graham showed him the newspaper. He can't speak though, and whatever he's doing with his hands is not the sign language I learnt in school. I have no idea where we are or why we're here." He pauses, making sure he shared every useful piece of information he has. "Maybe the Doc knows him? He went crazy when he saw the TARDIS." 

"The TARDIS? Where?" Yaz frowns. 

Ryan points to the side street he was walking across a few seconds ago. "We landed there. I think we were wrong though. That alien really doesn't look like he's about to start an invasion." 

The younger woman narrows her eyes, trying to get a better view of the stranger who's now aiming his frantic arm motions towards the Doctor. "How do you know he's alien?" The cloak is hiding most of the man's body, but he seems human to Yaz. A very small sized human, but still. 

Ryan just smiles and wordlessly motions her forwards.

***************

Meanwhile, the Timelord is already crouching down next to the alien speaking with Graham. The man turns to face her and it's only centuries of traveling across the universe that allows her to hide her initial shock. He looks like a small bear with a pointy black nose and large expressive eyes. The cloak wrapped around his arms hides hands that are closer to paws, than the human definition of hands. His floppy ears and furry face only adds to the teddy bear look, and the Doctor has to clear her throat before she can speak. 

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Do you need help?" 

The stranger freezes and narrows his eyes in Graham's direction. The older man shrugs and takes a step back, content to let the Doctor handle the challenge of communicating with the mute professor. 

Unfazed, she tilts her head and focuses on him. There's a rhythm to the way the man moves, a repeating pattern that proves he's trying to communicate an idea. She waits until he pauses before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." 

The man frowns and just stares at her for a moment, curious. It doesn't take long before he snaps out of his thoughts, reaching into the inside pocket of his clothes to find a note pad and a pencil, while Ryan and Yaz join the little group. They line up behind the Doctor, facing Graham who's standing behind the stranger's back. 

The alien sits on the ground and crosses his leg, focused on the words he's putting down on a blank sheet of paper.

The Doctor moves closer to read over his shoulders for her companions' benefice. "My mate is trapped inside and he's dying. Help. Please."

"He's inside that building?" The Doctor points the office tower Ryan examined earlier. "And he can't get out."

The stranger shakes his head frantically before scribbling faster. "Inside the computer. The Artificial Intelligence." 

The Timelord freezes as she reads the words out loud. "So... The AI is inside that building?" She pauses, waiting for a quiet confirmation nod. "Your mate is stuck inside the most powerful computer on Earth." Another nod. "What happened? How is it even possible?"

The man's shoulders raise and fall silently, in something that looks like a silent sigh, before he tightens his grip around the pencil and starts writing again. "I'm Professor Ox, from the planet Brap." 

"You're a Brapian. Of course you are." The Doctor mutters the words to herself. While she never visited their home planet, she once helped a Brapian stuck inside a spaceship's command system. He almost made the ship crash over a very populated planet, and it's only Bill's quick thinking that allowed them to free the man and reboot the main computer in time to avoid a disaster. 

Frowning, the Doctor tries to remember everything she knows about Brapians. Their main sources of energy are heat and electricity, which could both be found inside a computer. They're small enough to go unnoticed for a very long time, until their slow feeding drains all the power from the piece of technology they're attached to. They have a tendency to choose the most inconvenient sources of energy, often getting stuck somewhere they never should have been granted access to. The amount of information managed by the AI is probably just an added bonus to the Brapian trapped at the heart of it, a good source of distraction. 

"So, your mate was hungry and he decided to go inside that building. When?" 

Tears filled the Professor's eyes as he scribbles again. "I'm not sure. I'm scared he's going to burn."

The Doctor's eyes widen as memories from the man she once rescued floods her brain. He was burning up when they rescued him from the ship. Brapians needs to spend the energy they ingest in a relatively short amount of time, otherwise power keeps flowing through their body, burning up every cell they have, until all that's left of them is a pile of ashes. 

When Professor Ox is done writing, he puts away his pencil and the Doctor grips his notepad before he can tuck it back into his clock. She stands up and starts pacing, reviewing both the text written hastily on the sheet and the information rushing around her head. Yaz, Ryan and Graham stand still, trying to wrap their mind about the stranger's unexpected story. 

"How do you know he's inside the computer? Can you communicate with him?" Yaz asks, trying to avoid the Doctor nearly walking into her. 

"Good question. Five points to Yaz." It's a distracted mumble, answered only by Ryan's whining whisper about Yaz getting points whenever she speaks. The interaction is lost on the Professor who makes his way to the younger woman and rolls up his sleeve, displaying a smart watch fastened on his wrist. The humans examine the piece of technology curiously, Ryan poking at the screen until two words flash in bright blue light. "Help. Stuck." The words vanish, replaced by a series of lines and dots. 

"This makes sense to you?" The Doctor asks, startling the humans as she appears behind Graham. The Professor only points at the building behind them. "Some kind of coordinates then." She turns to her companion. "It's not a threat that made the TARDIS crash here. It's a distress signal, powerful enough to hijack her navigation system." The frozen silence answering her speaks volume, every member of the group considering the amount of power it would take to force the ship into landing. 

"So, Earth is not about to be invaded by aliens? That's good news." Graham says. 

"Is it?" The somber look thrown in his direction makes the man freeze. "Defending the most protected building on Earth against an alien invasion was easy. Now we need to infiltrate it and rescue a dying man. A man who's hidden somewhere deep enough to have access to the computer's processing unit. He's sending messages without being noticed by any security protocol." 

"What do we know about the security in that building? If it's just locked doors, we'll be fine. We have the Sonic." Ryan tries. 

"I doubt 'the most secure building on Earth' means lots of locked door, Ryan." Yaz answers before the Doctor can speak.

The Timelord distractedly shakes her head, as she tries to figure out the best course of action. Her first instinct is to do as Ryan said, to unlock the front door and adjust her plan to whatever they find inside. It's the thought of the captive man that makes her pause. Brapians are clever, if completely reckless whenever they get hungry. If the security system inside the building managed to keep him from escaping, she has to make sure they won't fall into the same trap. She needs more information about what's awaiting them behind the locked doors. Luckily, she knows exactly where to find all the information they would need...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!  
> Thanks again to the people reading this and leaving kudos and/or comment! :-)

"Come on gang. Not going anywhere before we make a plan."

With a sharp intake of breath, the Doctor turns on her heels and makes her way to the alley where the TARDIS landed. Yaz and Graham are quick to follow, familiar with their friend's sudden ideas, leaving only Ryan behind to guide Professor Ox into the ship. 

They stop in front of the closed doors while the younger man considers warning the alien about what he's about to see. He dismisses the thought with a small grin - it's always fun to watch newcomers enter the TARDIS for the first time - and heads inside, holding the door behind him. 

The Brapian eyes Ryan with a confused frown when he notices the human's enigmatic smile. It takes a few more seconds, but the Professor eventually steps around him, and freezes at the bottom of the TARDIS' stairs. He gasped soundlessly, his mouth falling opened while his eyes widen and travel around the room. He eventually catches sight of the Doctor's patiently waiting gaze. 

"That's my ship. Been told it's bigger on the inside." The blond throws the words over her shoulder, as she moves to the opposite side of the console. She fiddles with the buttons for a second, before a plan appears on the TARDIS' screen. It shows the structure of an ordinary office tower, and Ryan can only assume it's the building occupied by the Artificial Intelligence. 

"Do you have more information on your mate's specific location?" The Doctor points towards the map, and Professor Ox snaps out of his dazed observation of the control room. He makes his way up the stairs, clasping the railings firmly with his small hands. Once he reaches the screen, he taps the bottom part of the building with his fingers. 

"Okay, let's see what you can tell me about the basement, girl." The Doctor whispers, turning a couple of switches in front of her, until the image focused on the last level. 

The plan is surprisingly detailed, offering a clear picture of every room on the building's last floor. Galifreyan characters are scribbled around the margins, and silence stretches until the Timelord glances around to find three impatient humans - and a Brapian - staring at her.

"Right, sorry." 

The Doctor walks closer to the screen before explaining the drawing displayed under their eyes. "Looks like the computer takes up all the basement." She points to a large squared space. "That's where the network's servers are kept." Her fingers trail around the lines of the plan. "Memory stocking, control room, independent power supply. Best guess is your mate is stuck somewhere in the control room, would be the easiest way to send messages." 

Taking a step back, the Doctor narrows her eyes and starts pacing across the stairs. "I don't understand what keeps the building so secure. There's no trace of surveillance system, no patrol, nothing. It can't be just locks, can it?"

"You said the AI's location has been erased from human knowledge. Maybe it decided to go light on security." Graham shrugs, unwilling to over-complicate an already complex mission. 

The TARDIS' background humming suddenly grows louder, startling Professor Ox. The humans are used to the ship's occasional interventions, and they raise their head towards the screen, as one specific annotation on the plan suddenly grows brighter. Eyes turned to the Doctor again when the woman gasped. 

"That's it! They isolated the basement."

"In English, Doc." Graham interjects. 

"You know how your spaceships are airtight, to keep all the oxygen on board? 

"And to protect people from space, yeah." The older man agrees.

"Same idea. Except it's not a ship. And someone took all the air _out_ of that basement. It's clever, really. Humans can't control the AI if they can't reach it. And they can't reach it, if there's no oxygen over a full floor of the building."

"Why not?" Yaz frowns. "We go to space and there's no oxygen. We just need to bring our own." 

"That's what's clever. The only security system is an oxygen detector." The Doctor points out small black dots hidden in between the lines representing walls. "Bring even a trace of it inside, and you'll catch fire." 

"That makes no sense. Wouldn't the computer be damaged in a fire? They can't be sure someone is not going to try it." Ryan points out.

"There's no oxygen to keep the fire going. Let's say you make it to the basement with bottled oxygen. The security system will detect it, make it explode - not exactly sure how - before the lack of air snuffs the fire out. You'd be left to die in a vacuum. " 

"His mate has been stuck there for a while, and he's not dead." Graham protests, motioning to the quiet Brapian observing the scene.

"They don't breathe." The Doctor's answer is distracted. "They don't even have lungs. They feed on electricity and heat. That's all they need to survive." 

"Like the Pting?" Ryan asks, flinching at the glare thrown his way by Professor Ox.

"Well a more civilized version of a Pting, but yes." 

***************

Heavy silence falls on the room after the Doctor's answer. The group has ran out of questions, left with no clue to guide them towards a realistic plan and the very real possibility that they're faced with a problem that has no solution. Yaz is standing near the entrance and she watches as the Professor sighs and slowly slides down the wall, burying his head in his hands. Ryan throws a sympathetic smile in his direction, before joining his granddad who's silently staring at the map. 

The Doctor stays uncharacteristically still, leaning back against the console with only her fingers twitching on the closest lever. Yaz frowns as she examines her friend more closely. The Timelord's eyes are roaming over the control panel, without registering anything. There's a tamed spark in her gaze, a new expression that Yaz has never seen before, and she doesn't quite know what to make of it. It vaguely reminds the younger woman of her sister's restlessness after a long car ride, back when they were children. 

As a general rule, the Doctor falling quiet is never a good sign. That kind of tension is unusual though, as it seems to be radiating _from _the Timelord. Yaz blinks, and the air around her friend vibrates for a second, before she blinks again and the illusion is gone. The human frowns, confused by the odd sight, but she decides to follow the foreign instinct. She moves closer to the blond, mirroring her position against the console, before crossing her arms.__

____

____

Yaz gently nudges the Doctor's shoulder with her own. "You okay?" The only answer she receives is an intrigued look, completely different from the usual easy warmth that colors most of her quiet discussions with the Timelord. Yaz freezes in answer, noticing the slight frown thrown her way. 

Before she can understand what's happening, the moment is over and the Doctor is speaking. "Graham, can you read the map?" 

"Of course. Pretty straightforward." The older man nods. 

"Ryan, do you remember what I said? About which room is where?" 

He looks at her from the other side of Graham before approaching the screen and pointing to the basement's rooms. "Servers, control room and memory stocking." He pauses. "And the power supply."

"Good lad." She bites her bottom lip, falling silent again as the two men speaks at the same time. 

"Oi, don't I get points for that?" 

"How's that helpful? Knowing what's where is useless. We can't get into any of those rooms without suffocating." Graham adds

"Maybe you can't." The words are barely out of the Doctor's mouth before her companions all stare at her with different degrees of confusion. 

"You can't be serious." Yaz snaps out of the dazed silence first. 

"Why not? My respiratory bypass system can lasts around ten minutes? Something like that." The Doctor points to the plan. "That trip is going to take me five, if Ryan guides me. Walk in the park." 

The man's eyes widen and he gulps. His confidence has grown since he started traveling aboard the TARDIS, but it's the first time he would be such an important piece in one of the Doctor's plans. Being the Timelord's guide as she makes her way through an entire basement without breathing sounds terrifying. He's never had to take such important decisions on his own before, what if he fails? What if he sends her into the wrong room, or can't find the exit? 

He pauses when his gaze meets Professor Ox's hopeful eyes now fixed on him. Ryan takes a deep breath before nodding and forcing his panicked thoughts away. If the Doctor trusts him with her life, he's not going to let her down. He can do this. 

"Yeah, I got this. You'll help right?" Ryan turns and glances at Graham. 

"Oh, sure. Now you ask the bus driver." Graham teases, but there's a happy spark in his eyes. They've grown closer since his wife passed and left them to sort out their complicated relationship on their own, but it's the first time Ryan lets himself rely on him like he used to rely on Grace. The older man is determined to be there for his grandson and he accompanies the words with a gentle pat on his back.

Yaz's vision is focused on Ryan when he gulps, and she follow his eyes as they sink to the floor. He's part of their family and she loves the man. Their bound has started with memories of their time together in primary school, but it has grown into a deep friendship that Yaz knows she can always rely on. It's nice to have a mate close to her age to travel the universe with, especially when it's someone as kind and open minded as Ryan. 

The man is easy to read though, and his fear is everywhere. It's in the trembling of his voice, in the nervous fidgeting of his hands, all the way through the doubtful glances he directs at Graham. There's a shakiness around him that doesn't disappear, even when his granddad tries to inject humor into the situation. 

Yaz tunes out the discussion between the two men, turning to address the Doctor. "Ten minutes? Even you can't hold your breath for ten minutes, there's no way."

"I'll be fine. I've gone a lot longer without breathing." The Timelord forces away the memory of a spacewalk that once made her blind, until Bill took it upon herself to restore her sight. "It wasn't that bad. And the boys have my back, right?"

"So?" The word is out of Yaz's mouth before she has time to think, and she winces. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." 

Ryan doesn't answer. He's standing a few feet away, ignoring the conversation and seemingly deep in thoughts while staring at the map displayed on the TARDIS' screen. 

"What if you run out of air in the middle of that basement? What if there's more security than what the TARDIS can see? It's not like we can go rescue you, you would die." 

Graham approaches the two women in slow, measured steps, gently interrupting Yaz's heated plea by putting a hand on her shoulder. "I think it's our only chance, Yaz." He pauses, weighing his next words carefully until he decides that they might comfort the worried human. "And she can always regenerate. Right, Doc? That thing you did the night we met, with the golden light. You won't actually die." 

Yaz is about to protest, her thin understanding of the regeneration process is enough to know that the Doctor would turn into an entirely different person. The woman standing in front of them would _actually_ die. Her objection is stopped when she notices a new awkwardness in the Timelord's posture. There's something she's not telling them. "What now?" 

The blond woman sighs and lowers her eyes to the metallic steps. "It's not going to happen. I'll be fine. But dying somewhere without oxygen would kill me, for good. I would regenerate, but my next body wouldn't be able to breathe either. They would die, and so would all the next versions of me, until I've run through my entire regeneration cycle." 

Yaz opens and closes her mouth, with a vaguely horrified look on her face, until she's able to articulate her thoughts. "You're joking." 

"Not really?" The Doctor answers with a scrunched face. 

It takes another second before the information sinks in, but as soon as Yaz feels her thoughts click into place, she grips the Doctor's elbow, practically dragging her to the far side of the control room. "Give us a minute." 

They make their way around the console, and Yaz only stops when they're hidden from the rest of the group's view, pushing the Timelord lightly against the nearest wall. "What are you thinking?" 

"Yaz, I'll be fine. Really." She pauses, settling her hands on the human's shoulders. "Ryan is going to guide me into the basement, I'll find the control room, free Professor Ox's mate and be right back here before you even have time to worry. Then maybe we can finally go get an egg fried sandwich. Been craving one for months now."

"This is a terrible idea. And I've watched you jump from the arm of a crane and detonate a bomb on purpose." 

"It's always worked out though, hasn't it?" The Doctor points out lightly, trying to ease her friend's concerns.

"Yeah well, one day it won't." Yaz snaps. She closes her eyes and lets out a sharp breath, trying to keep the unexpected rush of emotion flooding through her brain under control. 

"You don't have to do it." It's a whisper this time, and Yaz knows she's wrong as soon as she says it. The Timelord is the only member of their group with reasonable chances of escaping the basement alive, and she will never turn her back on someone asking for her help. 

The younger woman is aware of her own fear clouding her usual rational thoughts, and she sighs. She's supposed to be the team's voice of reason, balancing out Graham's sarcasm and Ryan's eagerness for everything that vaguely looks cool, but her brain is stuck on the mental picture of the Doctor dying somewhere in that stupid building. Alone. The image is making her stomach churn. 

"What's the other option? I can't just let him die." The Doctor's voice softens, and there's a hint of sympathy in her eyes as she speaks. "It's what we do. You know that." 

The younger woman sighs again, before stepping forwards and wrapping her arms around the Doctor's waist. Yaz draws her friend into a hug and lets her forehead rest against the Timelord's shoulder, repressing a vague desire to just drag her friend back to the console and activate the de-materialization lever. She feels hands slide around her back to reciprocate the embrace. 

"I know. I just don't want to lose you before..." She clumsily trails off, not really sure how to end that sentence. 

"Yaz..." Her name is a gentle whisper against her ear, and the human closes her eyes at the compassion she can hear in the Doctor's voice. She swallows hard against the tightening in her throat, willing away the tears prickling behind her eyelids. Yasmin Khan doesn't cry in the middle of a crisis. "I'm not leaving. I promised that I would always find you, remember? I never break my promises, not if I c..." 

The rest of the words die in her throat, when Yaz raises her head from her shoulder and silently stares at her. The closeness allows the Doctor to notice tiny golden flecks in Yaz's soft brown eyes, and she gulps when she feels the human's warm breath against her lips. Her hearts quicken at the sensation, and part of her is very aware of how foolish her own reaction is. She's over two thousand years old, she really shouldn't be feeling this way just because Yaz is probably about to k...

Her thought is interrupted by soft lips brushing against her own. The touch is fleeting, and they both freeze for a second, eyes closed and fingers clutched into the other's clothes, until the Doctor moves her hands to the younger woman's shoulders, gently tugging her closer. Yaz responds by tilting her head to the side and they're kissing again, noses bumping against each other. 

The contact is firmer this time, and it lasts longer. Long enough for the Doctor to enjoy the warmth of the body pressed against her own, the sound of Yaz's steady heartbeat echoing in her ears and the feeling of soft hair against her hand that's now cupping the back of the human's neck. Yaz lets out a sharp breath when they have to separate, the kiss turned messy by their matching grins.

They gaze at each other quietly, before the Doctor closes her eyes and leans her forehead against Yaz's. "You kissed me." 

"Mhm." The noncommittal noise is the most Yaz can manage with her heartbeat thundering into her ears. Letting her head fall back against the Timelord's shoulder, she feels the blond's hands shift to wrap around her back with a tight squeeze.

Yaz has kissed people before, of course. She dated a couple of boys and quite a few girls the year before meeting the Doctor. It's the first time her body responds in such an intense way, and she's grateful for the blond's arms holding her. Her legs feel unsteady, and she's struggling to catch her breath, which is odd after such a short kiss. It only leaves her wanting more, and she has to resist her first instinct to drag the Timelord away from the control room, and into a more private section of the TARDIS. She wonders if the Doctor is having a similar reaction, aware of the woman's ragged breath warming the side of her head. 

"Is this something we do now? Kissing? Because I'm very much in favor of more kissing." 

The words are whispered against Yaz's hair, and it makes the younger woman grin in reply. The question is the exact reaction she was hoping for, after that burst of courage. Kissing the Doctor is something she thought about - dreamed about, if she's honest with herself - ever since she acknowledged her crush on the blond alien who literally fell into her life. There's something deliberate behind today's timing though, and her fingers tighten into the Doctor's shirt as she answers the question.

"Guess you'll have to come back and find out."

The human lets out a shaky breath and reluctantly takes a step back, forcing herself to focus on the upcoming rescue mission. She refuses to completely let go of the Timelord, and her arms stay loosely wrapped around the other woman as she speaks again. 

"You know Ryan is terrified, right?" Yaz asks, forcefully shoving her own terror into a far corner of her mind. 

The Doctor offers a questioning stare in reply, before frowning. "I know. But how can you know? He didn't say anything." 

Yaz rolls her eyes. "It's not hard to notice. And I'm pretty scared too." She sighs. "Can I do anything to help, or do you just need the boys?"

Despite the admission, the human's voice is already more solid than it was a moment earlier. The Doctor bites back a smile. It's been a long time since she met someone who was as fitted for her lifestyle as Yasmin Khan is proving herself to be. The quick emotional shifts involved in their lives don't seem to faze the human, who's slowly growing into her natural ability to compartmentalize. 

The skill would only help, if Yaz ever decides that traveling around the universe is something she wants to do for... Well, for longer than her average companion. The thought briefly brings back Rose's memory, and her sweet but short lived promise of forever, and she has to shove back the nostalgia to concentrate on the task at hand. 

The Doctor slides her hands away from Yaz's shoulders with a last squeeze, taking a step back. "You just keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't start bickering with each other. And you're in charge if something..." She trails off. It might be best not to make Yaz think of something going wrong. "Unexpected happens." 

The human nods wordlessly, and they hurry back to the other side of console, joining the rest of the group huddled together around the TARDIS' screen. 

***************

The Doctor takes a deep breath, staring at the locked door while twisting the Sonic screwdriver around her fingers. She's reasonably sure that the only thing awaiting her passed the entrance is an empty building, so she takes a step forwards and ignores the fear stirring up in her stomach. Trying to remember the last time one of her plans involved that level of risks, she decides that it was probably on the colony ship from Mondas. The memory of Cybermen pointing their weapons in her direction blurs into the agony triggered by the regeneration process. At least that pain won't be a concern today. 

The idea of dying - really dying - is enough to send her thoughts spiraling. The fight she put up against her last regeneration was caused by grief, by the knowledge that going through another life meant getting attached - and losing - more friends, not by the willingness to die. Yet here she is, about to enter a building that would be considered a death trap by a vast majority of living creatures across the universe. 

The Doctor swallows hard against the knot in her throat and focuses her attention on the mental link connecting her to the TARDIS. After a moment spent listening to the familiar humming, she feels her mind settles. There's a dying man being held prisoner by a sentient computer inside that building. She's going to find him and bring him back, no matter the cost. 

The Sonic whirs as the heavy chains wrapped around the doors fall to the ground. She steps inside the entrance, freezing for a moment as she takes in her surroundings. She's standing inside an unremarkable lobby with the welcoming counter on her left and a pile of chairs on her right. The air is stalled, but it's normal Earth atmosphere: mostly oxygen, nitrogen, argon, with the slightest taste of water. 

The Doctor silently makes her way forwards, stopping when she spots a lift at the back of the room. She presses a hand against the earpiece she's wearing to communicate with her friends. "Ryan?" 

"I see it."

The man's voice sounds almost somber, which is odd considering that she's speaking with _Ryan_ , but it makes her smile. Humans in general have a habit of coming through when the stakes are high, but Ryan in particular has shown a remarkable ability to step up whenever they get caught in a tight spot. He's reliable and cautious when the situation requires it, but he shares her easy amazement at the wonders of the universe. Well, most of the time. He really didn't like the Gobi Desert, which might have had something to do with the snakes hidden amongst the...

"The lift allows access to the basement. It's probably acting as some sort of airlock." 

"Thanks. Wish me luck." She pauses and grins, acknowledging that part of her is enjoying the rush of adrenaline coursing through her body. "Not that I need it." 

She fills her lungs until there's an almost painful tension in her chest, before stepping into the empty lift. The doors slide shut and the elevator lets out a suspicious whistling sound, before launching down in a motion that jostles her. Her hand shoots for the wall, and she manages to stay upright through the fall, feeling the slow change in the composition of the air around her as oxygen is evicted from the small space. 

The platform stabilizes in an abrupt stop, and the doors open to reveal a long hallway scattered with unmarked doors. Ryan's voice immediately echoes in her ears. "You need to get through the memory stocking room first. Third door on your left." 

A silent nod and she starts walking. It takes another brush of the Sonic before she can enter the room and examine the new space she finds herself into. It's dark, dusty and has a distinct metallic smell to it. Shelves are lined up in neat rows for as far as she can see, and she quickly realizes that she's standing at the entrance of a maze. The humans on the TARDIS seem to come to the same conclusion, and she hears a shuffling noise coming from her earpiece. 

"Doctor?" It's Graham's voice this time, but she can still hear Ryan's in the background. "I know she can't answer, I'm not daft. Listen, the TARDIS just zoomed in on that memory room... Thing. All those shelves look like a maze, but I've got you. It can't be worse than driving a bus through London's traffic. I had a route going around Trafalgar Square once, it was a nightm..." He interrupts himself after more noise come from the background. "Oi, you don't have to hit me. Right, Doc. Go forward and turn into the second row on your left." 

The Doctor follows the quick series of indications, registering each directions into her head. As she progresses deeper into the room, her own mental plan of the maze starts to take shape and she commits it to memory, for what she hopes will be a fast escape. Her body's level of oxygen is still reasonably high, but their plan didn't include being stuck into a labyrinth before even reaching the control room. 

After a last turn on her left, the rows of shelves morph into a larger space that resembles the corridor she found at the exit of the lift. "That's it, Doc. The control room is at the end of the hallway." 

She passes through the door pointed out by Graham, finding a much smaller space filled with metallic boxes. Each box is lighted up by several glowing signals. She rushes to the closest one, whipping up her screwdriver. The first scan comes up empty and she moves along the line, finally getting signs of life somewhere near the furthest wall. 

The Doctor freezes for a second. Opening up what seems to be one of the Artificial Intelligence's important component is bound to set up some sort of security alarm, and she wishes she would have thought about the possibility earlier. Of course the Brapian had to be stuck into a locked space, or he would have made his way out of the building by himself. It's too late now, and she knows she doesn't have time to worry about anything more than leaving the basement as fast as possible. 

With a last check of her mental plan of the maze still awaiting her, she switches the Sonic's setting and points it towards the box. It unlocks to reveal a mess of small pieces, wires and a darkened shape curled up on the ground. A shrill sound reverberates around the narrow room, before a thumping noise seems to shake the entire building. She frowns, waiting to hear an update from her companions but only silence echoes from her earpiece. She puts a finger against the nanotech, but all she receives back is an empty buzzing sound. 

The thought hits her as she crouches to reach the unconscious Brapian stuck into the box. The security system probably cut off all transmissions between the inside and the outside of the building. She's on her own to escape. 

The Doctor stands, carrying the man with her and sending his compact shape over her shoulder. He's heavier than she anticipated, and she swallows a burst of horrified realization when she notices how much time she spent inspecting the boxes. Her breathing stopped six minutes ago now, and making her way back to the lobby is going to take at least three more. 

It's far too late to change anything about their plan, so she secures her grip on the small man with one hand, before striding back towards the lift. Making her way through the maze is a little faster since she doesn't have to wait for specific instructions, but the pressure inside her chest is constantly building. 

The elevator awaiting her when she emerges from the labyrinth is a welcomed sight, and the Doctor has to force herself into a steady walk. Running would only increase her need to breathe, and she's already pushing the limits of her respiratory bypass system. She slides between half shut doors and enters the empty space with the Brapian still unconscious on her shoulder. Only a few more seconds and she'll be back on the building's main floor, where oxygen will allow her to get her scrambled thoughts together.

Once the lifts stops and the doors ding opened, she immediately feels the difference in pressure from her first passage into the lobby. The air has been evacuated out of that room too, while she was in the basement. 

Fear clouds her mind for a second, until she shoves away the burning feeling in her lungs. It seems like the exit will be a bit further than she expected, but just a few more steps and she'll be able to breathe again. The Doctor glances at the alien she's carrying. He hasn't moved yet, but she still chooses to focus on the slowly cooling temperature of his body, and on the life she can sense coursing through him. There's no way she's going to let him die so close to the exit. She stops in front of the building's side door, hand sliding against the handle as she pushes forward. 

Nothing. 

She blinks, clearing the water gathered at the corner of her eyes and forces her brain to slow down, ignoring the fear - the panic, really - prickling in a corner of her mind. The entire building has probably been put under lock down since she opened up the Artificial Intelligence. She needs to unlock the door again. Think. She's good at unlocking doors, she just needs to figure a way to... She slides her unoccupied hand into her coat's pocket, getting a glimpse of an all too familiar golden light enveloping her fingertips. 

She doesn't dwell on it. Fighting away the regeneration energy is only going to slow her down, and she needs to get out before the full process starts. Her tingling fingers close around the Sonic as she leans against the door - the Brapian stuck between her body and the solid surface - before pointing the screwdriver towards the handle. Pressing the button, she briefly hopes the unlocking setting is still activated. Luck is on her side, and she hears a click over the thumping of her hearts echoing in her ears. 

Her own weight, combined with the momentum of the alien falling against the door is enough for it to give away in a burst of sunlight and sweet Earth smelling air. She gulps and gathers as much oxygen as she can into her lungs, shifting to her hands and knees in the dust. She sees the Brapian rolling away from her and tries to break his fall, but the sudden movement brings her hand back into her field of vision. 

Golden light is enveloping the limb and slowly making its way up her wrist, as she nervously swallows. Concentrating all her energy on the air flowing back through her body, she gets up to her knees. "Not today." The Doctor mutters through clinched teeth. "I'm fine. Go." Her body seems to cooperate for once and the glow slowly fades back into nothingness. The tingling feelings in her hands lasts a bit longer, until she stands and shakes both arms. 

Feeling more like herself, she stumbles to the man she just rescued and crouches at his side. His skin is cooler to the touch than when she first picked him up and she chooses to interpret it as a good sign, letting out a small relieved sigh. Raising her head, she scans the surroundings until her eyes catch a familiar blue box. 

She frowns, wondering why her companions are still inside the ship before noticing lights and sirens in the background. The sound is getting closer and she slides her hands under the Brapian's arms, pulling him to the TARDIS' entrance. She pauses when she reaches the door, snapping her fingers before making her way inside.

***************

Her feet have barely hit the metal floor before Ryan slams the doors shut behind them, and Professor Ox rushes down the stairs to grip his mate's wrists. The Doctor waits until he lets out his own relieved sigh, before stepping back and taking a seat on the floor, her back against the nearest column. She lets her head fall against the cool surface, filling her lungs gratefully for a silent moment. The TARDIS' humming gets louder for a second, and she closes her eyes at the ship's obvious displeasure. 

"Did my best. Sorry it wasn't fast enough for you." 

"Two minutes." The spoken words startle the Timelord, and she bangs her head against the column behind her when she rushes to look up. "You're two minutes late, and the TARDIS wouldn't let us out." 

Yaz's eyes are serious, more serious than the Doctor has ever seen them, and she resists the urge to squirm. 

"Sorry?" 

The younger woman crouches at her side, and the Doctor's halfhearted speech about how putting her life on the line to save someone else's is what she does, dies in her throat. They stare into each other's eyes for a long, quiet moment before Yaz launches herself forwards, her arms wrapping tightly around the Timelord's shoulders. The hug is awkward given their position on the floor, but it makes coherent thoughts fade away from the blond's mind. She closes her eyes and tucks her chin against the human's shoulder, basking in the warm comfort.

Yaz was fully expecting some sort of teasing remark about her worrying too much, and she frowns when the Doctor silently sinks into the hug and drapes clumsy arms around her waist. "Are you okay?" 

The Doctor hesitates before answering. She's - mostly - over her initial reluctance to look weak in front of her friends. Yaz, Ryan and Graham have been on board long enough to see her get injured plenty of times, it's inevitable with their lifestyle and her tendency to stand on the front line of every battle. The boys generally leave her alone, trusting that she will tell them if she needs their help, but Yaz always manages to get the full story out of her. 

The younger woman's technique usually involves a lot of patience, some gently prodding question and a cup of tea, and the Doctor finds that she doesn't really mind letting her guards down, especially after she realized that Yaz's little interrogation sessions often end with a hug.

The Timelord allows herself a few more seconds of comfort, breathing in the familiar scent of leather jacket and clean soap before clearing her throat. Sharing the memory of the golden light that enveloped her hands would leave her shaky - and possibly have a similar effect on Yaz - which is not something they can afford with two Brapians still standing in the control room. 

"Don't understand why you're still asking me that. Always fine, me." 

Yaz feels the Doctor's hands loosen around her and she frowns. Hearing the woman's familiar, steady voice is helping calm her thundering heartbeat, but the panic that filled her when they lost contact with the Timelord is still bubbling in her mind. She has an inkling that the Doctor's side of the rescue didn't go according to plan either, and she wants nothing more than to stay wrapped up in her friend's arms while they swap stories. 

The rescued Brapian chooses that moment to remind them of his presence, letting out an odd sound somewhere between a cough and a sneeze. Yaz realizes that she's not going to get time alone with the Doctor until the aliens are gone, and she disentangles herself from her friend with a resigned sigh. 

"You're taking me with you, next time." 

"Hm, as long as there's air for you to breathe." The Doctor stands, reaching a hand to haul Yaz up. "How are they?" She asks, pointing to the tallest man, slowly coming to on the floor. Ryan and Graham are clumsily trying to help him up, while Professor Ox stands on the side, wringing his hands together. The Doctor gets her first good look at the man she saved and narrows her eyes. 

"You again? Really?" The exclamation makes everyone in the ship turn to her, including the two strangers. 

The man on the ground frowns, tilting his head in confusion. "I don't think I know you, apologies. My name is Pang." Graham and Ryan jumps after hearing his voice, and he chuckles. "Not all Brapians are mute." His voice seems to snap the Professor out of his stupor, and he moves closer to his mate, eyes widened and hands shaking. Pang reaches out, and they tangle their fingers together. 

"Not all Brapians are stupid either." It's a mumble, low enough to be lost on every occupant of the room, except Yaz who's standing right next to the Doctor. The human frowns, intrigued by the bite behind the words. The blond is often impatient - rude sometimes - but never when the people they rescue look weak enough to keel over. The Brapian can't even stand straight, leaning most of his weight against his mate who just threw an arm around his shoulders. There's an odd tension in the Timelord's body that makes Yaz take the lead of the conversation, trying to usher the two men out of the ship as fast as possible. 

"I'm Yaz, this is the Doctor and that's Ryan and Graham."

The man's eyes nearly bulge out of his head. "You're the Doctor. How... What..." He snaps his mouth shut, until the Professor starts taping an impatient foot against the floor. Pang meets his mate's gaze with a long sigh. "Remember Sigma IV?" They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, before he sighs again. "The spaceship I was caught into. The Doctor got me out of their central computer, right before we crashed on Phyllas XXI." He pauses and turns towards the Doctor. "Or was it Phyllas XXII?" 

The Timelord holds the Brapian's eyes for a long, silent moment, and he eventually winces, letting his gaze fall to the floor. "Sorry." He turns back to his mate, only to be met with the same grave stare and he sighs. "It's not like I'm getting trapped on purpose." Professor Ox makes some sort of rushed gesture with his hand, and Pang gulps. "Okay, fine. I'll be more careful." His voice raises as he addresses the other occupants of the room. "I appreciate what you all did for me." He takes a step forwards and his small clawed hand hangs in the air, a few inches away from the Doctor. "Many thanks to you, again." 

The Doctor stares at his hand with a stubborn frown, until Yaz elbows her in the ribs, as subtly as she can. The blond takes the offered paw and crouches, looking at Professor Ox first. "You need to keep a closer eye on your mate. And you..." She turns to the smallest of the two and Yaz steps forwards, ready to intervene.

The Doctor freezes when she notices the movement. She knows her attitude towards Pang is a bit colder than how she usually acts around people who need their help, but she's mostly being quiet. The anger she's feeling at the man's recklessness is kept under tight lock into a corner of her mind, and there's no way the younger woman should be able to sense it. Ryan and Graham are both watching idly from few feet away, unaware of the tension coursing through the Timelord's body. Yaz is standing closer, but it doesn't explain how fast the younger woman moved, ready to separate her and the Brapian. 

The Doctor's eyes narrow, as a few memories from the day comes flowing through her brain. Something about Yaz's attitude is stirring up a vaguely uneasy feeling in her stomach, and she decides to speed up her parting speech. ""Getting stuck into the command center of a ship is one thing. But if you could stay away from planet controlling computer, I would really appreciate it."

Pang looks sheepish for a moment, scratching the back of his head in some kind of apologetic gesture. "I will. Only regular sources of energy for me, from now on." He slips his hand out of her grip and reaches for the Professor. "We must get going, before they lock down the district." He scans the room with a small smile. "Thank you to the rest of your crew as well. I don't think I would have lived for much longer without burning." 

"No worries." Ryan says.

"She's right though. Gotta be more careful, mate." Adds Graham, while Yaz nods silently. 

Professor Ox tugs the other man towards the exit, and the resolute frown on his face tells the group that their little warning speech is not the last one Pang will have to suffer through today. The TARDIS' doors are barely closed behind them before the Doctor rushes towards the console and activates the dematerialization lever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! Sorry it took forever, I had to make some changes to my first draft. One last time: Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment or leave kudos on this. It's a huge source of motivation for me!!

The Doctor approaches the console and quickly launches the TARDIS into the vortex, her movements sharp and lacking her usual dramatic flair. Once they're drifting across time and space, she takes a step back and stares at the central column, hands on her hips. 

"Doctor?" Ryan keeps his voice low, conscious of the tension that crept into the control room. 

"That's me." The Timelord answers, snapped out of her quiet musings. "We'll be drifting for a bit, need to recover." Which isn't exactly true, but it will have to do as an excuse to get some time alone with Yaz. Her eyes find the younger woman's. "You're with me." 

Before she can react, Yaz feels a hand wrap around her wrist, tugging her towards the TARDIS' hallways. She goes willingly, throwing a wave over her shoulder for the silently observing men. She catches a glimpse of a smug smile on Graham's face, before Ryan rolls his eyes, and Yaz frowns. Her friends slip out of view before she can ask what the odd interaction was about, leaving her alone with the woman dragging her deeper into the ship's corridors. 

"Doctor? Is everything alright? Where are we going?" There's something strange going on with the Timelord. The blond hasn't looked at her since she interrupted the conversation with the Brapians. And while Yaz knows the Doctor isn't keen on hanging around people they help after their task is done, she usually doesn't flee the scene either. 

Yaz narrows her eyes and takes a long look at her friend's back from where she's standing, a few steps behind the Doctor. The alien is striding into the twisty hallways, the sound of her boots heavier than normal in the ship's quiet atmosphere. Her shoulders are tense, matching her grip on Yaz's wrist that's just a little too tight. Not enough to hurt, but it's definitely not the usual smooth touch she's grown accustomed to, and Yaz frowns. The Doctor seemed exhausted when she entered the ship with Pang a few minutes earlier, and now she's bursting with nervous energy. What changed? 

After another moment of quiet observation, Yaz sighs as she considers the possibility that her friend is dragging her along for a private chat about the status of their relationship. She knows the rush of courage that pushed her to kiss the Doctor took her by surprise - Yaz surprised herself, honestly - but the alien looked happy about the new development. Saying you're in favor of more kissing doesn't sound like the beginning of a rejection... Right?

The thought sends her brain into a bit of a frenzy, and Yaz struggles as she tries to imagine how she would react if the Doctor gently lets her down. Because that's what she would do. The Doctor has too much compassion and kindness for an outright rejection, not that it really helps calm down the human's nerves. She doesn't want to be pushed away, she wants to explore the warm, sparkling energy that exploded into her stomach when the Doctor held her close, their lips pressed together. 

Though if her choice is between going back to her regular life in Sheffield or staying with the Timelord as just mates, she'll have to get over that stupid crush. In fact, it would never be "just mates". Friendship is brilliant, especially with someone like the Doctor, and Yaz knows she could learn how to be happy over time, with the support of her newfound family. She stumbled upon an unexpected feeling of belonging amongst their unlikely crew, and she won't risk the balance they've established for an unrequited crush, if this is what she's dealing with. 

She ignores the painful squeeze in her chest at the thought. There would be time to deal with the sad disappointment later, preferably when she's back home and tucked safely under the blanket of her own bed, with her laptop and a lot of chocolate. It's how she's deal with crushes through her teenage years, and it worked out well enough. Of course, none of them were on amazing time traveling aliens, but Yaz chooses to skip over that part for now. What she knows for sure, is that she's not ready to stay behind and say goodbye to the Doctor, especially not over stupid _feelings_. She can't ever imagine being ready for that, if she's honest with herself. 

Yaz is snapped out of her spiraling thoughts when they stop in front of a black door she's never seen before. The Doctor pushes it open, tugs on her wrist one final time to guide the younger woman further into the room, before the door slides shut behind them. 

"Hang on." 

The Timelord stands near the entrance, fidgeting with the Sonic before pointing it at the ceiling and turning off the lights. Yaz gasps when she feels the entire room shifts around her. She tries to keep her feet under her body, but the floor seems to be slipping further and further away until she's floating in the middle of empty space. Her brain eventually catches up with the situation, and she smiles in amazement, sparing a thought for how wonderfully mad her own life has become. She's flying in complete darkness somewhere aboard a spaceship that can travel through time. 

"You okay? Sorry, should have warned you." The question comes with an amused chuckle that makes the human roll her eyes.

"You think it's funny. Don't apologize when you're not even sorry." Yaz teases back, as she awkwardly twists and turns until her feet are pointing towards where the floor should be.

The Doctor's grin falters in the darkness. "That's why we're here." She floats closer to where Yaz's voice came from, until she gently collides against the human. 

"Because you're not sorry?" Yaz frowns, confused. The trace of levity that showed in the Doctor's voice when she plunged the room into darkness just vanished. Yaz's stress is fading away though, with the slow realization that their upcoming conversation has nothing to do with her relationship with the Doctor. 

"Remember earlier, when we hid in that library?" The Timelord doesn't wait for an answer, barreling through the words. "You asked me about robot police officers. I said something stupid, apologized, and you knew I wasn't sorry. How?" 

"Wh... What?" Yaz is blindsided by the turn of the conversation. She has a vague memory of that part of their day, it wasn't important enough to leave an impression on her. Why was the Doctor still hung up on it? 

"And there was that time, when we woke up together in your bed. You knew I didn't sleep before I could say anything." It's a statement, not a question this time, but Yaz still feels the need to find a logical explanation. 

"You probably looked tired."

"Did I? Really? Think about it, Yaz. Try to remember what was different about me." 

Yaz shakes her head in confusion. That morning is still fresh into her mind, the few hours added to her very short list of completely peaceful moments she enjoyed with the Doctor. She vaguely remembers feeling tension coming from the other woman, but the memory is blurry, and she doesn't understand where the Timelord is going with her interrogation. 

"I'm not sure. Why does it matter?" Yaz asks, after the silence lengthens a bit too long. 

"Just now, when I recognized the Brapian... You knew I was annoyed before I talked to him." The Doctor pauses, gathering her thoughts. "In the library, when Graham asked me about Grace's timeline, you felt his grief before he spoke. And you just knew Ryan was scared to guide me into the basement."

Yaz frowns this time. There's an obvious theme to the Doctor's questions, and now that she points out the different times it happened, the human wonders where her own emotional awareness comes from. She's never been able to sense people's feelings before. 

"Okay. You win. Getting concerned now." 

They're standing close enough for Yaz to feel the warmth radiating from the Doctor's body, and she's not surprised when a hand finds her forearm in the dark. The Doctor's fingers trail down to her hand, clasping it with a gentle squeeze. "Don't be. That's why we're here. We'll figure out what's going on with you." 

"Where's 'here' exactly?" Yaz asks, looking around at the words. The room is too dark for her to notice anything, and she looks back to where the alien's voice is coming from.

"The Zero Room. No light, no gravity, no distraction. Even for me." 

With a quick intake of breath, Yaz forces herself to focus on the Doctor's cool palm pressed against her own before she shifts her grip to tangle their fingers. "Alright. Where do we start?"

***************

"I want to know when... This started. Whatever it is. Think of all the examples I just gave you and try to remember as much as you can. What you were feeling, what you were thinking, what you had for breakfast that day..." She trails off and scrunches her nose. "Maybe not the last one. But I need as much information as you can give me."

Despite her worries, Yaz smiles at the typical instructions. It's scary to realize that she didn't notice the change in her own brain before the Doctor pointed it out, but she's grateful for her friend's steady presence. Closing her eyes, she lets her thoughts settle. It brings more clarity to her memories, and she tries to remember what was going on inside her head at the exact moment she noticed Graham's sadness or Ryan's terror. There's a common feeling that accompanies each occurrence mentioned by the Doctor, but she's struggling to put it into words. It's almost like a mental tingle, whenever her friends have a strong emotional reaction.

"It's hard to describe... But I think I can feel other people's emotions."

"Yes. I know that, Yaz." The hand squeezing her own takes the sting out of the Doctor's answer. "Do you feel the emotion yourself, or do you just know how other people are feeling?"

"It's more like... I can sense it." She pauses, words escaping her as she struggles to explain the odd experience. "It's like... When you wrap your hands around a hot cup of tea, and you can feel the heat before your skin actually touches the mug. But I can feel feelings coming from people instead." Yaz lets out a long sigh as her own words sink in. "Sorry. I know it sounds completely mad."

"No. No, it doesn't. It makes perfect sense." The Doctor falls silent, trying to organize her ideas. "What you're describing is a type of mental awareness a small minority of humans are capable of. I've met a couple of them, but you're reminding me of a woman I saw on a bus. She was an empath, and she could see things and hear voices that nobody else could."

"I don't hear voices though." Yaz points out.

"No, but it's the same idea. You have a clearer perception of reality than regular humans. It's a very basic form of telepathy that the human brain can handle."

"What happened to her?" Yaz hesitates before asking. She's relieved that other people have similar abilities, but the perspective of hearing voices is not sitting well in her stomach. Her own thoughts and feelings are already complicated enough to sort out. "The woman you met?"

"Hm, not sure. She predicted I was about to die, didn't stick around after that."

The answer startles Yaz, and her eyes widen. "Did you?"

"Die? Yeah." Silence stretches out after her reply falls heavily into the room.

"I"m sorry."

"It's fine, you get used to it." She pauses with a frown. "Well, not really. You just know it's bound to happen, so you..." She trails off as the conversation reminds her of how close she came to dying just a few minutes ago. Yaz's thumb rubs softly against the back of her hand, and she allows herself a few seconds to silently enjoy the soothing touch. "Anyway, not here to talk about me. Have you always been able to feel other people's emotions?"

Yaz doesn't need any telepathic awareness to feel the mess of conflicting feelings in the Doctor's voice, and she decides to go with the obvious change of topic. It's probably for the better, she's not sure what's the proper thing to say to someone reminiscing about their own death. "No, it's new." 

The atmosphere around them shifts, and she hears the Doctor blow out a long, slow breath. Yaz frowns. The room is still plunged in perfect darkness and she can't see the other woman, but there's something just... "Why are you worried?"

The Timelord runs her unoccupied hand down her face. "Couple of things. You're not supposed to suddenly develop that kind of mental power. Humans are born with it, it just fades away with time for a majority of you. But I've never seen it come back in the middle of your li..."

"So, babies are telepath?" Yaz's dubious voice interrupts.

"And small children. They have a special kind of awareness that you just... Stifle over time, because it doesn't fit the human definition of normal. Quite sad, really."

Yaz's eyes widen, questions flying through her mind. They're definitely revisiting the topic later. "You said couple of things. What else is wrong?"

"Fear and grief are both incredibly powerful emotions, I'm not surprised you sensed them from Ryan and Graham. But frustration, tiredness or concern are not feelings you should be able to pick up on. Especially not when they're coming from me."

"Why not?" Yaz frowns.

"I'm a Timelord! My emotions are buried under five levels of mental barriers." So, maybe it's a small exaggeration. But not much of one.

"The alien who kidnapped me could feel them. He said it." Yaz points out, skeptically.

"He was a Kruul! Telepathy is how they communicate on their home planet. Any other species trying to get into my head would get noth..."

"The clothed creatures on Desolation read your thoughts." 

"Well, the mental barriers go a bit fuzzy after regeneration. Those things would be blocked out, if we met them today." She pauses. "But you're human. You shouldn't be able to feel anything coming from me, no matter how strong your empathy skills are."

Yaz raises an unimpressed eyebrow at the dejection in the Doctor's voice. "Oi. Can't your five levels of mental barriers do something, if a lowly human sensing your emotions is such a problem?"

The Doctor winces. She always forgets her companions are human, after spending enough time with them. Her remarks are meant as compliments really - well, most of the time - but they all tended to be a bit sensitive at her careless quips. "Sorry, didn't mean it like that. Humanity as a species is not my favorite and I forget who I travel with sometimes." She pauses, remembering how Bill used to poke fun at Timelords in answer. "You wouldn't have liked the white haired Scotsman much, I'm a lot nicer this time around."

"We're definitely talking about the 'Humans are not my favorite species' part later. What now though?" Yaz says, sighing.

"We need to figure out how you suddenly became an empath. I want to make sure there's nothing dangerous happening to you." The Doctor hesitates, considering bringing Yaz to sickbay for a brain scan.

"I think it started the morning I woke up with you." Yaz answers, after a moment of quiet reflection. The strange mental tingle that echoes in her brain whenever she picks up on foreign emotions is hard to trace back into her memory, but she's fairly certain that nothing odd happened before that day.

"After you were kidnapped then. Maybe he did something to you that I didn't notice." The Doctor twitches at the idea. Has she really let Yaz live for so long with traces of a telepathic attack in her brain? They were lucky it only resulted in an ability to sense other people's feelings, if it was the case. She ignores the pang of guilt in her chest, snapped out of her thoughts when Yaz's hand squeezed hers."I'm sorry, Yaz. I don't know how I missed it."

Yaz freezes at the mention of her kidnapping. It brings back the memory of the telepathic duel between the Kruul and her friend, and something is tugging at the back of her mind. Something she forgot in the middle of their chaotic lifestyle. Something that could explain what's going on with her brain, and why the Doctor wouldn't see it.

"Yaz?"

The Timelord's voice brings her back into the conversation as she finally figures out what she's missing. "What if the TARDIS did this?"

"The... How?" The Doctor narrows her eyes at the ceiling, keeping track of the ship's unchanged humming through their mental link.

"I asked her if I could help, when you were fighting the Kruul inside my head. She said something about a price to pay..." The younger woman trails off, struggling to remember the details of that conversation. "I'm not sure. I just remember being able to really see the Kruul in my mind after the TARDIS did... something. I could fight him back. But I'm not sure what happened. It was like a lightning bolt, right into my brain."

"Yes, it was. Threw me out too. I thought that he lost contr..." She whispers, the fingers she has wrapped around Yaz's hand tightening protectively. "What did you do?" The words are growled between clenched teeth, and the Doctor feels the ship bristles in her head. A few mental picture are sent through their connection in quick succession, and she flinches at the aggressive rush of information.

"Doctor?" The Timelord fell quiet after the question aimed at the ship, and Yaz is getting concerned about the answer she received. The brief comfort the human took in the TARDIS being the cause of her new mental power is slowly sipping out of her mind, leaving a restless need for information in its place.

"Let me think. I'm trying to figure out what she did." The Doctor's voice is tight and does nothing to reassure the younger woman.

"But what is she saying? She did this, right?" Yaz gulps audibly, and it's the perceptible tension in her words that brings the Doctor out of her silent communication with the TARDIS.

"Yes. It's complicated though, she doesn't really speak. It's more of a..."

"What do you mean? How do you communicate? Because she talked to me, when she was in my head." Yaz interrupts.

"She can talk, just doesn't like it very much. I just hear the background noise you can all hear in the control room, but it's coming from inside my head. Well, most of the time... But we've been together long enough, I can tell if it's a good mood kind of humming, or if she's cross with me, or if her battery needs to recharge. It gets louder when we drift in the time vortex for too long, I think she gets restl..."

"Doctor." Yaz's interruption is gentler this time, and it comes with a fond smile. Listening to the Timelord ramble is always enjoyable, even if she often ends up completely confused by the time the woman is done. To be fair, Yaz doubts anyone can follow the speed at which the Doctor's mind jumps from one idea to the other. For now though, the human really wants to understand what's happening inside her own brain.

"Right, sorry. Mostly humming, but she can communicate by showing me mental pictures. I'll see flashes of specific memories, or people. When she's really trying to make a point, she'll send pure feelings. But she very rarely speaks."

"And the TARDIS sent you something, just now?"

"Our landing in Montgomery, Krasko, and Ryan sending him back through time with his Vortex manipulator. I don't understand how it relates to your..." The Doctor pauses, as her own thoughts click into place. "It's the energy. Of course it is." She whispers, aiming her next words at the ship. "What kind of energy? If you tell me it's Huon particles, we'll..."

_"Vortex Manipulators don't run on Huon particles."_ The TARDIS' voice echoes through the Doctor's brain, and she flinches at the loud sudden noise.

_"It's Artron energy. You injected Artron energy into a human brain."_ The Doctor frowns. _"Did you even think about the risks? It was a stupid decision."_

The warm pulse she associates with the TARDIS heats up. _"I take after my idiot Thief. Your human is fine. I'm keeping an eye on her."_

The Timelord purses her lips, biting back her irritated reply. She's annoyed at the ship's recklessness, but part of her is glad to not be the only one protecting Yaz, knowing how often they get separated on their adventures. "Of course you start speaking right after I explain that you don't talk. It's like you're trying to embarrass me." This time, the TARDIS' presence brightens in reluctant amusement, and the Doctor shifts her attention to Yaz, who's - not so patiently - waiting.

"So?"

"The TARDIS injected Artron energy directly into your brain. I'm not sure how much it changed its chemistry or abilities, but it's definitely given you some basic telepathic powers. Might be permanent, or not. We'll have to see..." She pauses. "Might have changed a few other things as well, I don't know. It's the first time I've seen something like this. I'd like to look for myself, if you'll let me?"

"You want to get into my head again?" Yaz tries to clarify.

"Just to make sure everything is working as it should. Won't take long."

The younger woman nods, before realizing that the Timelord can't see her movement. "Alright, I'm ready."

The Doctor lets go of Yaz's hand, shifting her fingers towards the human's temples. She makes contact with her shoulders instead, and Yaz gently grips her friend's wrists, guiding her to her own head. A second later, the dark orange glow she associates with the Doctor's presence brightens up inside her mind, before a thought hits Yaz.

"Wait." The light instantly fades away from her head, and Yaz continues. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me anything. I've told you that."

"Yes, well you don't always answer." Yaz replies, only half teasing.

"I know." The Doctor notices the serious undertone of her friend's voice, but she chooses to ignore it.

When she realizes that the Timelord is not going to offer any further explanation, Yaz goes back to her original question. "Why can't I see you? When we did that telepathic self defense drill, you were literally inside my head. Now you're just some kind of... Light."

"I'm always the same." The Doctor replies, grinning. "It's how your brain chooses to see me that changes, I just join in on whatever is occupying your thoughts. If you want to imagine yourself in the TARDIS' control room again, I can just walk in."

"So, I can imagine anything?" Yaz's eyes widen at the realization of how much control she has over her telepathic interactions with the Timelord.

"Yes. It's like what we did with Ryan and Graham. You just have to focus on something. If you let random thoughts go in and out of your head, you'll only see me as a light or a color. Something abstract."

"What if I pick something you don't like? Can you change it?"

"Like what?" The Doctor frowns, as she considers the question. "A garden of pear trees?"

"I don't know. Anything you don't like." Yaz shrugs, before the Doctor's answer sinks in. "Wait, what? What's wrong with pear trees?"

"I don't understand how the universe let pears happen, Yaz. They're squishy and all... Never, ever let me eat pears." The blonde answers, her face scrunched up.

"No pears. Got it." Yaz blinks quickly, trying to wrap her head around the unexpected tangent before shaking her head. "You didn't answer my question though. What if you don't like the place I imagine? Can you change it?"

"I don't see what you could imagine that I wouldn't like, but yes. I could. It's like we did earli..." The Doctor interrupts herself. "I didn't get to that part with you, did I?" She fills in the younger woman about what happened in the boys’ heads, how she went through Graham’s shield of buses or Ryan’s armor.

"... Then I sent an image of a stop sign through his subconscious. The human brain doesn't have enough telepathic awareness to detect foreign thoughts. It just registered the idea, and materialized it into his mind. I could do the same to you." She pauses again, reviewing her own words. "In theory. I'm not sure how much power Artron energy gave you."

"The boys were right then. You cheated." Yaz points out, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"It's not cheating, if I didn't explain the rules."

"Remind me to always be on your team on game nights." Yaz chuckles, before raising her hands to wrap her fingers around the Doctor's wrists again. "Are we going to stay here all day? I thought you wanted to see if I wasn't dying."

Yaz's words send an uncomfortable squeeze through her chest, but the Doctor brushes it away. "Ready?"

"Ready."

***************

The word is barely out of the human's mouth before the Doctor materializes into her head. She finds herself in the middle of a train, nearly identical to the one she crashed into in Sheffield. The roof is intact, but one of the window is smashed in, and the lights are turned off. The Timelord looks around and finds Yaz standing on the other side of the compartment, giving her an odd look, that’s half puzzled and half... Pleased?

It makes the Doctor take a look at herself, and she freezes when she notices she’s wearing a suit again. It's not torn anymore though, if anything it looks like something Eyebrows would have worn. Her crisp white shirt is tucked into form fitting trousers held up by a pair of black suspenders. The jacket is dark and made from a velvety material that feels soft under her fingers. She adjusts it over her shoulders, loosens the first button of her shirt, before sliding her palms down her thighs, finding pockets to dig her hands into.

"Something you want to tell me?" The Doctor grins.

Yaz frowns, confused by the question but the blond is speaking again before she can answer. "We're in your head. Everything is designed by your mind, including, but not limited to where we are, what you're wearing and what I'm wearing."

The observation sends Yaz's brain into a frenzied search for an excuse that would explain the Doctor's new outfit, but words seem to be escaping her, and she's left gasping. It would be much easier to think if the Timelord could get rid of that stupid cocky grin. "I was just thinking about the night we met." There. That was a perfectly reasonable argument, no need to mention how her brain short circuited after seeing how great the woman looks in a suit.

"Hm." The Doctor hums, choosing to ignore the fact that Yaz's clothing isn't changed and that there's no trace of the police uniform the younger woman was wearing that night. Still looking particularly pleased with herself, the Timelord takes a longer look at the jacket she has on. "At least it's not torn anymore." She says, raising her arms. "Come on." The last words are thrown over her shoulder, as she heads for the compartment's door.

"Where are we going?"

"Down the train, of course. I told you, it's your mind. If there's something wrong, we'll find it."

The Doctor opens the door to reveal another compartment, nearly identical to the one they left behind. There's something slightly different though, something she can't point out and she reaches into her jacket’s pocket. Empty. She turns to Yaz with a long sigh, intend on asking the younger woman for her Sonic, before reconsidering the idea.

"You want to try what I was telling you about? About how I influenced Graham's thoughts?" Yaz only nods, a challenged spark flashing through her eyes, and the Doctor smiles back. The Timelord draws a mental picture of the sonic and concentrates, before snapping her fingers and sending the image through the younger woman's brain. She waits a second and pats her pockets again. Nothing.

"Brilliant." She whispers, before meeting Yaz's expectantly waiting eyes. "Did you feel anything?"

"Not really. It's good, isn't it?" Yaz answers, after a moment spent pondering the question.

"I think so. Your brain must have found a way to defend itself. Might be the Artron energy, or it might be that it adapted after the Kruul's attack." The Doctor looks around, hands on her hips. "We can find more clues around. I'll need my Sonic, if you want a more specific explanation." She raises a hand, palm facing up and Yaz only offers a blank stare in reply as she tries to understand what the Doctor is waiting for.

"Just imagine the Sonic appearing into my hand." The human tries, focusing all of her energy on picturing the screwdriver's every details, down to the marks of Sheffield steel on the side, and she watches in amazement as it materializes into the Doctor's hand.

"Wow. I did this?" Yaz's eyes are wide and fixed on the Sonic.

"Yes. You did." The Doctor's grin is contagious, and Yaz allows herself a moment to gaze into the hazel eyes sparkling in excitement, before she notices the sudden silence around them.

"Are you going to actually use it, or...?" She trails off when the blond's attention snap back to their surroundings.

"Right, Sonic." She pauses, clearing her throat. "Just watch, I've got this." The Doctor points the screwdriver in front of her, and objects that Yaz didn't even notice before brighten in a golden glow. A piece of luggage tucked under a seat on the right, a discarded coat on the left, even the glass from one of the window starts shining. The light is soft, reminding Yaz of the flickering flame of a dying candle, and it warms the atmosphere inside the ordinary train compartment.

"What's that?"

"It's the energy the TARDIS sent through your brain." The Doctor reads the Sonic's display before settling into the nearest window seat, looking up at Yaz earnestly. The younger woman smiles at her friend's barely contained enthusiasm as she takes the chair next to her.

"You like that stuff." It's a statement, there's no denying the excitement behind the Doctor's attitude.

"Artron energy?" The Timelord asks, confused. "It's alright. Smells a little weird, if you stay in contact with it for too long."

"No, all that..." She points towards the rest of the train. "Telepathy stuff. You're having fun now, and you look like you were enjoying yourself with the boys too.”

"Reminds me of home. Before I..." She interrupts herself, sighing and letting her eyes drift to the window. "Left. It's been a long time."

"What about..." Yaz pauses, hesitating about how to call the Doctor's previous traveling companions. "The people who came before us? You didn't try it with them?"

"Couple of times, but... Well, humans and telepathy don't mix very well."

"Why not?" Yaz is frowning, trying to imagine why anyone would pass on learning how to control their own brain. She has been pushed into it by the TARDIS, but learning the limits of her new power is something she's looking forward to.

"You lot always think telepathy means mind control. How would you like not being in control of your own brain?" The Doctor shrugs. 

"But you wouldn't..." The irritation in the human’s voice draws a tight smile from the blond, and Yaz's frown deepens when she notices the sadness flashing through her friend's gaze. "I was getting attacked by an alien, and you refused to get into my head before I told you to do it. What did they think was going to happen?"

"I don't know." The quiet answer is brushed away by a quick intake of breath, as the Timelord redirects the conversation. "Anyway, Artron energy. It's not causing you pain, is it?" She asks nodding towards the glowing window close to their seats.

"Not so far."

The Doctor fidgets with the Sonic, twisting it between her fingers. "I've never seen anything like this. The TARDIS doesn't usually go around sharing her energy with humans. Seems compatible enough with your brain but I’m not even sure it has stopped adapting yet."

"You mean, my brain is still changing. So I might wake up tomorrow and... What? Be able to read people's thoughts?" The human gulps at the perspective. That's a skill she knows for sure she doesn't want.

The Doctor has to tighten her grip around the Sonic to keep her hand from reaching for Yaz's. "Nah, don't worry. Even the TARDIS can't do that."

***************

The younger woman nods, offering a relieved smile before letting her eyes roam over the train. She tries switching things up in the compartment, testing how much control she really has on their surroundings. She moves pieces of luggage around, letting out a small gasp when two bags start flying in opposite directions, before focusing her attention on the mucky window. Dirt and patches of mud clear up instantly, and there's a vaguely proud smile looking back at her when she catches sight of the Doctor's reflection in the now spotless glass.

"Having fun?"

"Yeah." Yaz grins back, pausing to review everything the Doctor told her so far about the effects of Artron energy. "What's happening between us though?" The words are barely out of her mouth before she feels the alien's body tense in the seat next to her. She mentally reviews her question and winces. _That_ discussion is not happening while they're both sitting in a corner of her brain. It would leave her too open, too vulnerable for her taste, no matter how much she trusts the Timelord. "I mean, you said I could sense your emotions even if I shouldn't be able to. Did the Sonic gave you an explanation? " Yaz adds, clarifying her thoughts before the tension can linger.

"You're right." The Doctor forces her shoulders to relax against the seat behind her. She knows Yaz will want to discuss the kiss they shared at some point soon - humans and their need to dissect every step of a relationship drive her insane - but she really doesn't want to have that conversation today. Not that she’s particularly worried over the outcome, she’s very much aware of the deepening feelings between them, but rescuing the Brapian left her both exhausted and a little rattled at the prospective of regeneration. She's even worse at dealing with people's emotions when she's tired.

Yaz's question is a good distraction for now, and she lets her eyes wander around the train. The answer is here somewhere, it has to be. She registers every detail about the environment the younger woman created, every trace of Artron energy, every smell and every noi... She pauses, tilting her head when she notices the faint echoes of a humming sound around them.

"Can you hear that?"

Yaz freezes, holding her breath in an effort to focus on every noise coming from the train. She only registers the lengthening silence and realizes how odd that absolute quietness is. The train is moving, they should be hearing the engine.

"I can't hear anything. It's weird, right?"

"What? No, there's a..." The Doctor frowns and trails off, struggling to place the familiar sound. The realization hits her a second later, and she muffled an annoyed groan against the palm of her hand. "Of course. How did I miss it?"

"Want to clue in the human?"

“I’ll do better than that.” The Doctor gets to her feet, shoulders arched to keep from hitting the overhead compartment. She reaches up and grips a small glowing bag, letting the object fall on the table. “I’m going to show you.” She sits back and fidgets with the Sonic's settings, pointing it towards the bag. “Tell me if anything hurts.” She pushes the button without any further explanation, and Yaz tenses when she hears the familiar whirring.

Nothing happens for a few seconds, until something starts tickling in the background of her mind. The faint distraction doesn't last, quickly morphing into a warm, soothing hum that Yaz still can't place. When she turns to the Doctor to ask for explanations, she meets hazel eyes already peering back at her.

“Well?”

“What’s that noise? It's... I've heard it before.”

The Doctor grins, leaning on the elbow she settled on the armrest earlier with a teasing spark dancing in her eyes. “It’s the TARDIS.” The whisper against the shell of her ear draws a quiet gasp out of Yaz. She struggles for a second, trying to focus on what the Doctor said, not on the woman's breath warming the side of her head. 

“It’s still in my head?”

"She isn't. You should all be careful, or she’ll start hiding your rooms.”

“Yeah, well it’s hard to think when y...” _You're wearing that stupid suit and whispering in my ear._ Yaz's brain catches up with her mouth just in time, and she stumbles on the first excuse she can think of. “With that much noise around.”

“Right! Let me just...” Another whirring of the Sonic, and the TARDIS’ murmur slowly fades away before the Doctor offers an apology. “Sorry, forgot you’re not used to it. I don’t mind the noise.”

“Wait, was that the noise she makes in your head too?” The affirmative hum is barely out of the Doctor's mouth before Yaz objects. "Let me hear again."

The blond hesitates. She doesn't mind Yaz's curiosity, even if the human's probing into her past is a bit much sometimes. But the Timelord has learnt to differentiate her companions' genuine questions and their need to know every little detail about her. She loves the first, but the second fueled her best friend's frenzy to be exactly like her. Clara got her wish in the end, losing her life in the process. She isn't going to let the same thing happens to Yaz.

The Doctor tilts her head to examine her friend, trying to gauge the younger woman's motive before she gets caught into Yaz's pleading gaze. With a long sigh, she twists the screwdriver back to the proper setting and points it towards the still glowing bag on the table. As if she can deny anything to the human when she's throwing _that_ look in her direction.

The TARDIS' characteristic noise fills the train compartment, and Yaz leans back against her seat with a sharp intake of breath. There's a rhythm behind the apparently simple background sound, and the human can imagine how it - how she - communicates with the Doctor.

"I like it. What does it mean though? You said the TARDIS isn't in my head, but I can hear her."

"She's not. You are connected to her, just like Graham and Ryan. It's a dormant connection, like a switch that's turned off for everything except translation. It's why you couldn't hear anything before I used the Sonic. The Artron energy in your brain is only residual. She left it behind when she saved you. But I'm guessing it might be enhancing what you'd normally sense from her. It's probably going to fade away with time."

"So instead of just hearing English when aliens speak..." Yaz starts, slowly wrapping her mind around the new information.

"You get insight into what people feel, as long as you stay within the TARDIS' reach."

"What about your feelings?"

"'I don't have the same kind of telepathic link with her. I have no control over it, not anymore. Emotions you feel from me are coming through your own connection to her." The Doctor sighs. 

Yaz hesitates, considering the idea. "If we're both connected to the TARDIS in different ways, does it mean you can feel my emotions too?"

"Maybe."

"And I'll keep sensing your feelings until the traces of Artron energy have faded away from my brain?"

"It's my best guess. It's not something that ever happened to me before, I'm sorry." The Timelord frowns, letting her eyes settle on the moving landscape they're traveling through. She trusts Yaz. But the idea of having her thoughts broadcasted to the younger woman is not sitting well with her, especially since she doesn't have any control over what goes through their mutual connection to the ship.

Some of her memories should never be shared. The pain they carry is her own burden to bear, and she accepted it a long time ago. Nobody should have to suffer through her version of the Time War, and she's worried Yaz will be exposed to her strong emotional response whenever they land near a battle field. There might be a way to protect the human, but...

"What?" Yaz's voice startles the Timelord out of her quiet reflection.

"Didn't say anything." The Doctor's eyebrows knit together. She didn't even complete that plan, there's no way Yaz could ha...

"You're too quiet. What is it?"

The blond hesitates for a second, before letting out a long breath. "I'm not sure how much access you have into my mind. There are things I don't want you to..." The Doctor trails off, lowering her eyes to the shiny piece of luggage sitting on the table. She's already struggling to shelter her friends from her past, she's not going to let an accidental connection to the TARDIS ruins her effort. The only solution she can think of would require a sacrifice she never even considered before, and the mere thought of it is enough to make her nauseous.

"Doc, look at me." Yaz has always been good at reading people, and her police officer training only strengthened her abilities. Perk of the job. And while the Doctor is very good at hiding her feelings, she has one obvious tell. The Timelord only falls quiet when she's shaken. _Really_ shaken. Or when it's just the two of them spending time together, but that never comes with the amount of fidgeting the Doctor is currently doing with her screwdriver. Yaz waits until hazel eyes meet her own, and she anchors their gaze together for a second. "It's alright. You're entitled to your privacy. But what's your plan? How do you want to fix this? Can I help?"

The last question gets a small nervous smile out of the alien. "There's nothing you can do for the Artron energy still in your brain, I'm not even sure I could remove it without hurting you. I'm going to isolate my own connection to the TARDIS." The Doctor gulps, turning back to the window.

"You mean... Cut it off?" Yaz asks with a frown.

"More like a temporary mental block. You won't be able to feel anything from me at all."

"Don't do that." Yaz's voice is serious enough to compel the Doctor to turn back and face her. "Don't. You told me how important the TARDIS is to you, that she stayed with you through all the people you've lost. You need her. I won't be responsible for you isolating yourself from your best friend. Wait, is she your friend? Can you be friends with a sentient ship? I'm not sure how all of this works, but what I'm trying to s..."

"Okay." The Doctor raises both hands in a calming gesture that cuts off Yaz's speech. "Should probably leave the rambling to me." The remark cuts through the tension surrounding them, and Yaz feels her shoulders relax with the blond's gentle teasing. "I'm not going to change anything for now, how about that? I don't mind if you're aware of my feelings, but you have to tell me if... If you ever see something..." _Something that scares you._ The Doctor keeps the words for herself, opting for a less ominous phrasing. "Just tell me if anything changes."

"I swear." The promise seems to calm the Doctor, and she sinks back into her seat. Yaz leans on the now empty armrest between them, trying to catch her eyes. "It could be useful though, think about it." The confused look thrown in her direction prompts her to clarify her thoughts. "My new... Power" Yaz pauses with a chuckle. "I don't know how to call it. I'm only human, and it makes me feel li..."

The Doctor huffs, interrupting the younger woman. "You lot always say that. There's nothing 'only' about being human. You're extraordinary. Annoying and reckless, but extraordinary. And completely unique, in all of the species I've met across the universe." She sighs and meets Yaz's curious eyes. "There's nothing 'only' about you in particular. You're special, Yasmin Khan."

Yaz loses track of what she was about to say, left speechless by both the meaning and the intensity behind the Doctor's words. The Timelord shuffles in her seat and leans closer to Yaz until they're sharing the seat's armrest.

"Yaz?"

"Yes?" The younger woman's voice is quiet, as she tries to ignore how they somewhat gravitated closer to each other in the narrow train seats, and how the Doctor's breath feels against her cheek.

"Open your eyes."

Yaz complies, and she's brought back to the the TARDIS' zero room. She blinks, struggling to get her bearings while floating in perfect darkness. A hand finds her forearm and pulls forwards, until her body collides softly against the Doctor's. Fingers settle against Yaz's hips, and the younger woman raises her arms to return the embrace, hands sliding across the Doctor's shoulder blades.

"You still owe me an answer." The whisper is clear in the quiet room, drawing a sharp breath out of Yaz. 

There's no need to clarify which question the Timelord is referring to. Every second of their first kiss is burnt into Yaz's memory, and she can still hear the Doctor's hushed voice in her head. But words are escaping her at the moment, and she's left grasping for an answer. She doesn't know how to tell the Doctor that yes, kissing is definitely something they should be doing more of, but no, she's not ready to discuss what it means for their relationship. 

"Yaz?"

Her name snaps the human out of her thoughts. She notices the new tension in the body leaning against hers, and Yaz realizes how much her silence must have bothered the Doctor. Deciding to let her actions speak for themselves, she shifts forwards and tightens her grip into the Timelord's coat, bringing them closer as she blindly searches for the Doctor's mouth with her own. She catches the side of her jaw and trails kisses along her cheek, until the blond turns her head and leans into the touch, pressing their lips together. Humming at the sensation, Yaz feels the hands holding her hips shift, fingers traveling across her back and leaving shivers in their trails, until the Doctor is cupping the back of her neck.

The desperation that colored their first kiss is missing, but the intensity isn't, and Yaz recognizes the electric tension flowing between them. It's almost brighter this time, since the Doctor is not taken by surprise and Yaz is reminded that the alien has a lot more experience than her at this. Not that she's complaining, with the woman's fingers now tangled in the hair at the back of her neck and the very enjoyable feeling of teeth softly nibbling against her bottom lip. 

"Does that answer your question?" Yaz's voice is breathless, and the Timelord's answering smirk is lost into the darkness.

“Still got it.” The Doctor whispers, before tilting her head and moving forwards, intend on picking up where they left off, before Yaz paused to breathe. One of her hand slides to the front of the Timelord's shoulder, holding the blond away.

“What did you just say?” asks Yaz, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Well...” The Doctor pauses, smugness evaporated from her voice. "It's been a while since I've..." The younger woman interrupts her search for an excuse, drawing an embarrassing squeak out of the alien when she gently bites against her bottom lip.

“Shut up.”

“Bossy.”

“Shut _up_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if there will be a part 3 or not, I might just switch over to writing one shots for a while... I have a few ideas though, so nothing is decided yet :-)


End file.
